


All Uncertainties (Come to an End)

by sleepytime



Series: Everything Comes to an End [1]
Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: I think this is slowburn, M/M, No angst here, Will add character tags as story progresses, thats what I think, this is supposed to be a comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-01-17 21:57:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12374934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepytime/pseuds/sleepytime
Summary: Daniel met Seongwoo at a Starbucks. Convergence between the two kicks in.





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the prequel of my previous fic “All Good Things (Come to an End)”. I don't think there is a need to read the original fic in order to understand this one. (In fact, if you wish to read everything in a chronological order, this is where you should start hahaha). Enjoy^^

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will beta soon. XOXO.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Name?”
> 
> “Kim Yong-guk.”
> 
> “How do you find the new Starbucks at the lobby?”
> 
> “Well, the coffee is quite nutty, but it’s fine, it’s the only coffee shop nearby, and it’s at the lobby of where I work at. What more can I ask for?”
> 
> “What about the atmosphere? Would you suggest adding seats instead of just standing desks?”
> 
> “Well, we get to share the tables with strangers, but it’s a good thing. It’s very hard to meet other people from other floors, or even other companies on the same floor. Now, you have a proper opportunity to meet other people. It’s a natural way to expand your social circle, and a nice place to skive off from work. You can go grab a coffee and chat with people there for an hour or two…if your boss is not here. I get to meet like…, Daniel, Jaehwan, Sewoon, from the 15th floor, and even some people working nearby who come here for coffee. ”
> 
> “Like?”
> 
> “Donghan? Taedong?”
> 
> “Going back to our question, so, using standing desks is a good arrangement ?”
> 
> “As I have said, yes. The Starbucks looks very tiny in size already without the seats.”
> 
> “Thank you. Anything you want to add?”
> 
> “The coffee is VERY nutty actually, I was just being polite.”

* * *

It’s 11:30 p.m.

The dimly-lit basement carpark becomes emptier and emptier as the night falls. All the walls are sparsely painted with unsightly mould owing to the leaky pipes; the smell of damp can be smelt in every corner.

The security guard seems to be completely accommodated to this scene. He remains calm as he cursorily wanders across the parking lot, ignoring that every footstep he takes generates glaring echoes that are audible across the basement.

An unusual kind of noise coming from the car below the flickering light tube, however, catches his attention. It seems like someone is knocking the car from the inside. Intrigued, he strolls towards towards the car, only to see it covered by a thick layer of dust and shaking, together with forceful knocks from the inside of the car truck.

Perturbed, the security guard takes a step closer to the source of the sound. Only by then does he hear someone yelling with a weak voice, “help! Anyone here?”

The security taps the car trunk as a response and replies, “sir, is everything okay? Why are you in there?”

“How the fuck would I know? I was here when I opened my eyes! Where the fuck am I?Get me of here!” replies the man with a shaky voice.

“Sir, I don’t know why, but... but you are inside the trunk of a car, you are in a carpark,” answers the guard, trying to open the trunk before taking out his phone, “i’ll call the police for help.”

“Please! For god’s sake.”

“Er, sir, please hang in there, the signal is very poor here, I’ll go up first to call the police, stay clam.”

“WHAT?” exclaims the man, who wiggles in a greater magnitude, “fuck no! Get me out of here first!”

“That… That’s what I’m trying to do, sir! I’ll be back!”

-

The security guard rushes back soon after with two policemen following. Both of them give a loud thud on the trunk to signal their presence.

“Sir, we are the police, and we have contacted help already. Don’t be nervous, we’ll get you out of here.”

“I…I can’t breathe,” the man weakly yells as he continues to tap incessantly.

“Yes, sir, we have contacted a locksmith. Please hang in there. Keep calm. It will only be worse if you are nervous. Take in deep breathes.”

The trapped man does not respond. Worse, the knocks made by him gradually weaken.

“Sir! Sir!” One of the policeman makes a violent bang on the trunk to make sure the man is still conscious.

Yet, the knocking has stopped, and there is no reply.

Seeing how the man can be in imminent danger, one of the policemen takes out his police baton to break the window next to the driver seat. He then reaches the switch for the car truck and unlocks it.

The security guard immediately opens the car trunk to the full extent. What the three men then sees sends chill down to their spine and renders them completely speechless.

There is no one inside the trunk. Nothing.

* * *

“Gees, stop, this is scary,” says Seongwoo, holding out his arm, “I literally get goosebumps.”

“Yeah, stop it,” Yongguk agrees, “I don’t want to get bad dreams tonight.”

“Yong-guk, you are the one who wants to hear scary stories first,” quips Jaehwan before taking a sip of his flat white, “the story sounds more like a bluff.”

It’s lunch hours. After getting their cups of coffee from the counter, Jaehwan and Sewoon are chatting with other customers gathering near one of the standing tables at Starbucks.

“It’s true!” Taedong insists, finishing his espresso, “one of the policemen involved lives next to me and he is the one who tells me this story. He says the police inspected the car owner for almost a month, but he proved that the car was stolen from him for long. There are no reasonable explanations for what happened, so my neighbour thinks the car is haunted. Like, something bad happened with that car, you know…?”

“What… what kinds of things?” asks Yongguk, scrunching his nose.

“See, you said you are scared and you are now asking for details,” Sewoon teases.

“My neighbour hypothesises that perhaps somebody killed someone else and placed the body inside the trunk for a while first before he buried it," Taedong elaborates, "the ghost came back to the car to tell peoplethat he’s trapped there, just like _Annabelle_.”

“This becomes weirdly comedic,” Jaehwan comments, “Donghan, your turn.”

“Well, I used to work as a bellboy in a hotel nearby, you know, that one rumoured to be haunted,” Donghan starts, “Of course I was curious if these rumours are real, especially when I find out that they never let the guests to stay on the 13th floor.”

Seongwoo covers his ears and mumbles, “ _No, I can’t hear you_.”

“The paintings on that floor must be the scariest part,” Donghan follows, “you know, at 6pm every night, they have to cover the portrait paintings with black cloths. I was a junior staff there, so I was asked to carry out this task a few times.”

“ _I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you_ ,” repeats Seongwoo, who continues to cover his ears.

“They say that if the portraits are not covered, you will find some of them on a different floor the next day. One time, there was a blackout and no one remembered to cover these paintings. We found one of them on the receptionist counter in the lobby the next day,” Donghan continues before he taps on Seongwoo’s shoulder, “Hey, are you ok though? The story ends here. Don’t worry.”

Seongwoo lets go of his hands from his ears before Donghan mischievously continues, “one customer finds one of the paintings in his room after the blackout.”

“I hate you!” Seongwoo lightly chides with his classic death stare, while some other people around the table laughs.

“Jaehwan, your turn,” Donghan proposes after his laugh.

“My story, ladies and gentlemen, is _incredible_ ,” Jaehwan boasts.

“Can you just tell it then?” Taedong sasses.

“Of course,” Jaehwan nods, “so, last Friday…,”

‘Tsk, _Kim Jaehwan_ ,” Sewoon smacks Jaehwan’s shoulder, “you shouldn’t say this here, this issuch a dick move.”

“What do you mean? You know what I’m going to tell?”

“What _else_ happened on last Friday other than _that_?”

“Something related to you?” asks Taedong, pointing at Sewoon.

“No, nothing to do with me, but one of our friends and colleagues. If he hears it back, he will think we are bad-mouthing him,” Sewoon explains.

“How would that be? He is the victim!” Jaehwan disagrees, “I was trying to tell the story without naming anyone, but I won’t tell it if you don’t want me to.”

“You can't stop here right after you have triggered our interest,” Taedong dreads.

“I always respect my boyfriend’s decision,” Jaehwan reiterates.

“What are you worrying about?” Seongwoo questions, “we don’t work in the same company with you guys anyway.”

“If Sewoon says yes, then I’ll tell,” Jaehwan offers, turning his head to Sewoon.

Everyone around the table turns his head to Sewoon.

“ _Tsk_ , just tell, just tell, just tell!” Sewoon rolls his eyes, “but Daniel better remains anonymous.”

“Who is Daniel?” asks Seongwoo.

Jaehwan turns his head to Sewoon with his mouth wide open.

“Shit.”

-

<Last Friday night>

_“Excuse me, Chateau Latte?” asks Jaehwan, “wait, no, I mean, Chateau Latour, 1982.”_

_“Sure,” answers the waiter before he leaves._

_“Chateau Latte?” Sewoon teases while others sitting by the table joins the snicker, “is it a Freudian slip or what? Just how bad do you want coffee?”_

_Jaehwan’s team has finally concluded a big project for a very demanding client. They decided it is time to reward themselves at a fine-dining restaurant. The whole team was there - Jaehwan, Sewoon, Daniel and two other junior staff. Daniel’s boyfriend, who is also part of the team, is late._

_He does not arrive until 10 more minutes later._

_“Sorry,” Daniel’s boyfriend apologises, “the class overruns, and I can’t catch a cab.”_

_“It’s fine, don’t worry What kind of class are you attending?” wonders Jaehwan._

_“French,” answers Daniel._

_Right after, the waiter heads back to their table with a bottle of red wine in his hands, “excuse me, Chateau Latour.”_

_“Wow,” Daniel’s boyfriend chortles with stars in his eyes, “we are not joking when we say we’re going to empty our bank accounts tonight.”_

_“It’s Jaehwan-shi’s treat,” one of the junior staff answers._

_“Oh my god,” Daniel’s boyfriend exclaims with a smile, “Jaehwan-shi you are the best team leader.”_

-

“I don’t mean to be rude,” Yongguk interjects, “but can we cut to the chase?”

“This is the chase!” Jaehwan affirms, “so I was sitting next to Daniel, and his boyfriend was swirling the glass. I wasn’t paying attention to him, cause, you know, swirling red wine is normal, until I see Daniel lock his gaze on his boyfriend’s bracelet. Then I follow his gaze to find out what absorbs his attention, and you know what do I find?”

“What,” Seongwoo questions flatly.

“A strand of pubic hair, sticking on his boyfriend’s bracelet.”

Seongwoo almost spurts all the coffee from his mouth when Yongguk and Donghan burst into laughters.

“Are you fucking serious?” asks Yongguk after he collects himself from the laugh, “but then, it could be his, or his boyfriend’s, right?”

“Of course that is a possible defence,” Jaehwan responds with a smrik, “but only if the hair is black in colour, this is a blonde one.”

”Oh my god,” Donghan exclaims with a mixture of amusement and shock.

“Everyone by the table can clearly see it. And the follicle attached to the hair is extraordinary large,” adds Sewoon.

“We then exhaust our stalking skills to find out what happened. Apparently he hooked up with the Creative Director that was sent to our branch from the headquarters in France,” explains Jaehwan.

“Well, that’s a good story”, Seongwoo retorts with a wince, “but where is the scary part?”

“Oh, come on, you have to put yourself into our position,” Jaehwan quips, “we were sitting next to Daniel, witnessing his boyfriend with a strand of pubic hair from another man stuck on his bracelet. Bear in mind the whole scene happens under broad daylight, well, not _exactly_ _broad daylight_ , but, for sure, _in public_. No one knows what to say at the moment; we were all tongue-tied. Everyone was scared of saying something.”

Donghan giggles as he rubs the tears from his eyes, “now I understand why Sewoon doesn’t want his identity to be revealed. That was a weird situation to be in.”

“Yes, so just act like you heard nothing, okay?” answers Sewoon, covering his face, “gees, why did I reveal his name, that was such a Freudian slip.”

“Just like what I did when I order that red wine,” Jaehwan comforts, “that’s why we are boyfriends.”

Seongwoo sticks out his tongue to show his revulsion of the two’s public display of affection.

“This is endearing, but also very disgusting,” Taedong retorts.

“Yes it is,” agrees Seongwoo while he is cognisant of another man walking close to their table behind Jaehwan with a tumbler in his hand, "It’s absolutely puke-triggering."

“What’s puke-triggering?” interjects the man with a smile.

“Wow, _**Daniel** ,” _Jaehwan greets, sending a telltale gaze to Seongwoo with widening eyes, “why are you so late?”

“Oh, so…, so _you_ are Daniel,” Seongwoo stammers.

“Yeah, Kang Daniel, you are…?” Daniel replies, taking a sip from his tumbler.

“Ong Seongwoo, yeah,” Seongwoo addresses, turning his head back to take a sip of his coffee and hide his face.

“We are just talking about scary stories,” Donghan offers, eyeing at Taedong, who is tightening his lips into one straight line.

“What scary stories?” Daniel questions further.

An awkward silence then ensues around the table, until Taedong takes a look of his watch and replies, “oh shit, I have to go, the pizza is getting cold if I don’t deliver it.”

“It was cold half an hour ago anyway,” Sewoon rolls his eyes with a laugh, “that’s why I never order pizzas from your store. They hire staff like you.”

“Not like I want to deliver edible ones to you either,” Taedong sasses as he departs.

“I guess we have to go also,” Jaehwan follows, holding Sewoon’s hand, “gotta prepare for meetings.”

“Yeah, me too, my lunch time is almost over,” Yongguk waves his hand and leaves with Donghan.

“Huh? But I was just here,” Daniel pouts his lips, seeing almost everyone leaving just as he gets to the table. He then turns to look at Seongwoo, the only person left.

Seongwoo was struggling if he should follow the majority and leave, but he decides to stay after hearing Daniel’s words.

“Um…, Hi,” greets Daniel with a bright smile, “you are not here often, right? It’s my first time seeing you here.”

“Oh, um…I worked at the Innisfree nearby,” Seongwoo answers after taking a sip of his coffee, “I started working at that branch only since last week.”

“There’s an Innisfree nearby?” Daniel wonders as he furrows his eyebrows, taking another sip from his tumbler.

“Two blocks from here.”

“That’s quite far from here actually.”

“Yeah, my supervisor doesn’t want us to drink caffeine. He thinks it’s bad for the skin. I have to finish it before I get back anyway, might as well choose the one that takes a long walk if I have an option — but I don’t. This is the only Starbucks nearby,” explains Seongwoo, “you?”

“Jaehwan and Sewoon’s colleague.”

“Yeah, I know.” Seongwoo affirms flatly, nodding his head.

“ _you know_? How come?” Daniel asks curiously, fixating his gaze at Seongwoo.

For a moment, Seongwoo cannot bring himself to respond to Daniel. Silence follows between the two until Seongwoo opens his mouth, “um…, well, Jaehwan is the one who shouted your name when you get here, so I just assume you are his friend, yeah.”

“I see.”

 

“ _♫♫ Bicheul sodneun Sky~~~♫♫ geu arae seon ai I~~~_ ”

It’s the ringtone of Seongwoo’s phone.

“Hello,” says Seongwoo through the phone as he stares at Daniel with a smile, “gees, okay, I’m coming back. Bye.”

“My supervisor is back,” Seongwoo explains, placing his phone back into his pocket, “got to go. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Daniel never realises his gaze follows Seongwoo as he walk further and further away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Writing a prequel for a fic is such a headache because you have to make sure everything does not contradict with the storyline of the original fic. Coupled with the fact that I'm getting busier, updates may not be as frequent as when I was writing the original fic.
> 
> 2\. I’m so glad that, unlike the original fic, the endgame is less ambiguous for this one (and you would have known the ending if you have read the original fic).
> 
> 3\. In my original fic I said I will add some bonus chapters. I will honour this promise for sure but I need some time to make sure they bridge well to the plot of the sequel of the original fic. Therefore, it takes more time. Will update them after this fic ends.
> 
> 4\. Once again, thank you for your tolerance, will update soon. XOXO.


	2. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. will beta soon. Why do I always update a fic when it’s daybreak.  
> Thank you for your tolerance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Name?”
> 
> “Kim Jaehwan.”
> 
> “How do you find the new Starbucks at the lobby?”
> 
> “Quite good, I guess, I wasn’t able to meet any people apart from those in my office. Now, you gotta meet different people.”
> 
> “That’s one of the most complimented aspects of this branch.”
> 
> “Yeah, I guess it’s good for single people.”
> 
> “So, are you single?”
> 
> “No, my boyfriend Sewoon is over there.”
> 
> “Oh, um..., what about the coffee, is it too nutty?”
> 
> “Did someone seriously complain about that? We’re in a Starbucks for god’s sake. How fine will the coffee be anyway? It’s just taste like edible normal coffee to me.”
> 
> “I’ll mark that down. ”
> 
> “Any more questions?”
> 
> “It has nothing to do with our branch, but um, may I ask what’s between Daniel and Seongwoo?”
> 
> “Hahaha, Good observation. Three words: opposites attract.”
> 
> “That’s two words.”
> 
> “Oh, I mean, like attracts like, you know, practically the same thing.”
> 
> "They're the exact opposite."
> 
> "You can't take every word at face value. You know, Don't judge a book by its cover."
> 
> "I understand."
> 
> "Exactly, what you see is what you get."
> 
> "Yeah, whatever."

Seongwoo does not even feel slightly sleepy, but he feels the urge to visit the same Starbucks the next day.

 

“Hey!” Taedong waves at Seongwoo as the latter approaches, “you come on the right day. Look what Ihave brought.”

Seongwoo jogs towards their table, only to see everyone wolfing down a box of buffalo wings.

“You brought it from the pizzeria?” asks Seongwoo as he holds one of the chicken wings in his hands, “how come you have a whole box for you?”

“It’s part of the customers’ order that I’m going to deliver,” Taedong explains.

To Seongwoo’s astonishment, everyone continues to immerse themselves into the box of wings after hearing the answer, except Seongwoo himself.

“Won’t… won’t he or she call the pizzeria then?” asks Seongwoo with genuine concern.

“Nah,” Taedong shakes his head, “no one ever bothers to complain. I mean, someone may call if a whole pizza is missing, but the pizzeria never receive complaints about missing side-dishes like wings. Even if someone really calls they’ll just re-make it and ask me to deliver again. No biggie.”

Still, Seongwoo does not feel fully comfortable eating stolen food, until his taste buds convince him the otherwise.

“This is delicious,” Seongwoo compliments as he chews, “so you often steal from your pizzeria?”

“Of course I can’t!” Taedong laughs, “you have to strike an uneasy balance between being caught and stealing more.”

“I guess everyone who works in the service industry understands what you mean,” Seongwoo smirks, recalling his frequency in misappropriating product samples from Innisfree, “by the way, what’s your name? Didn’t get a chance to ask you guys last time.”

“Taedong, this is Jaehwan, Sewoon, Daniel, Donghan and Yongguk.”

“Nice to meet you guys,” Seongwoo sends a diplomatic smile, “let me go grab my coffee.”

Soon, Seongwoo comes back with a paper cup in his hand while he sees that, within his anticipation, the table is left with nothing but bones.

“Gotta go,” Daniel takes a step away from the table with waving hands after he takes a sip from his tumbler, “gotta buy props for our new project.”

“Which way are you going?” asks Seongwoo.

“The metro station,” says Daniel as cranes his neck to right.

“My store is along that direction too,” offers Seongwoo with a grin, “Let’s go together.”

* * *

“You know,” starts Seongwoo as the two slowly strolls along the sidewalk, “I have seen you before.”

“Really? Where?” Daniel responds perfunctorily after taking a sip from his tumbler.

“Were you in Seomyeon last Saturday for karaoke?” Seongwoo confidently asks.

“Wow, yes,” Daniel acknowledges; he was about to take another sip from his tumbler, but was caught up by Seongwoo’s accurate information.

“You were outside of the convenience store opposite to that karaoke,” Seongwoo further elaborates.

“So you remember a random, ordinary stranger you met in Seomyeon a week ago, of whom has no notable features. That’s impressive, but also kind of scary.”

“First, your pink hair is extremely notable,” Seongwoo rolls his eyes before he continues, “Second, it’s because you were _so_ drunk.”

“Was I?”

* * *

 

** <*Last Saturday Night> **

Seongwoo and Jisung were wandering on the Main Street of Seomyeon when they saw three people suddenly storm out from the convenience store. Both Seongwoo and Jisung could tell that the one who led the pack was obviously drunk. He sprinted in a wobbly manner and skidded to a stop without any warning. After that, he turned around to look at his two other friends with a smirk.

“♫♫ _Chong majeun geotcheoreom! Bang bang bang! Bang Bang Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!♫♫_ ” The man rapped vivaciously out of the blue, shaking his can of Coca Cola in his hand.

“You are drunk,” one of his friends informed, who then placed one of the drunken man’s arm on his shoulder to support his walk.

“I’m fucking not!” The man weakly protested, pushing his friend away, “Bang! Bang! Bang!”

“Shhhhhhh! You can bang whatever you want when we get home,” answered the other friend frustratingly. He also tries to place the drunken man’s arm on his shoulder, only to be pushed away again.

“Let me show you how James Bond wants his Martini shaken but not stirred,” the drunken man proclaimed. He then started to shake his can of Coke violently with both of his hands as if he was a bartender, while his two friends stood still with noticeable annoyance on their faces.

“No no no, you’ll fucking spill it,” another friend rejected, trying to snatch the can from Daniel, “fuccckkkkkkk, can we go home.”

The drunken man sprinted for a few steps away from his friends in order to “protect” his Martini. He then reached the ring tab, but he was too drunk to exert the power needed to open the can. Frustration grew on his face after repeated attempts.

“Even my Martini hates me!” the man yelled to the sky as he lifted his head up, gaining the attention of other pedestrians, Seongwoo and Jisung included. The drunken man then kept on starting at the moon while one of the friends took hold of the can of Coke from his hand and placed it in his own bag.

“Let’s go home, shall we?” his friend asked again with patience, repeating his help by placing the drunken’s man arm on his shoulder to support his walk.

“No!” the drunken man exclaimed, raising him arm to point at the moon, “UFO!”

“It’s just the fucking moon!” His friends blustered in annoyance, dragging him to the taxi.

</*>

* * *

 

“Apparently Jaehwan and Sewoon were trying their freaking best to get your ass home, while you act like a psycho person who just escaped from the asylum,” Seongwoo comments, “I don’t know anyone of you at that time, and now I know the drunkard’s name is Daniel.”

“I have literally zero recollections of the whole scene,” Daniel utters with a wry smile, “I blacked out I guess. I only remember the part where I was singing Big Bang.”

“So you seriously believed the moon was a UFO?”Seongwoo inquires.

“I was drunk, what did you expect.”

“What about UFOs in general then? So you think they are real?” Seongwoo follows.

“Of course.”

“Are they? Then why can’t we see any of them in Busan?” Seongwoo counters.

“Oh come on, Busan is so densely populated with skyscraper everywhere. Even if they have ever visited here, we can’t see them. They’re gonna be covered by all the tall buildings.”

Seongwoo tilts his head to process this explanation as he takes a large gulp of his coffee.

“Wait. You know there ARE reported sightings of UFO in Busan, right?” Daniel asks enthusiastically.

“You are joking,” says Seongwoo, shaking his head.

“Tsk, It’s true!” Daniel insists, “it’s in 2012 if I remember correctly. Let me find you the clip and send you.”

“Sure,” Seongwoo agrees cursorily. He is never a believer of the existence of extra-terrestrial life, but he is open to be convinced by concrete video proof.

“Hey, lend me a hand,” asks Daniel as he passes his tumbler to Seongwoo in order to search for his iPhone from his bag, “Give me your email I’ll add your Facebook.”

“jeongmaljeongmaljinjawanjeonrealdaebakheol@gmail.com” Seongwoo utters quickly with a smirk.

“Huh?”

“jeongmal, jeongmal, jinja, wanjeon, real, daebak, heol@gmail.com” Seongwoo repeats again at a much slower pace.

“What kind of e-mail name is that?” Daniel questions with a laugh, “give me your number then, I’ll send you through WhatsApp.”

Seongwoo does not respond immediately. He stares at Daniel with a knowing smile for a while before he remarks, “Such a smooth transition to get my number.”

“What?” Daniel rolls his eyes while he tightens his lips into one straight line so that they won’t curve upwards, “don’t be so full of yourself, I will ask you directly if I...”

“743-1474,” answers Seongwoo before Daniel even finishes his sentence, shaking Daniel’s tumbler in his hand, “by the way, you always bring your own tumbler? That’s weirdly eco-friendly of you.”

“Well, that’s the ostensible reason,” answers Daniel as he wiggles his eyebrows.

“What do you mean?” asks Seongwoo, scrunching his nose.

“Take a sip.”

Seongwoo obliges. He slightly lowers his head while he places the tumbler near his lips. The liquid that flows on his tongue tastes nothing like coffee, but another kind of beverage with which he is also extremely familiar.

“God. This is beer,” Seongwoo asserts, “are you fighting against crippling alcoholism or what? You were drunk last Saturday and you are now sneaking beer during work time?”

“Trust me, I rarely get drunk. What happened on Saturday was a one-time thing,” Daniel assures, turning his head away from Seongwoo, “it... it was about something that happened, but umm...,I am over it now.”

“I see,” Seongwoo acknowledges, knowing perfectly as to what Daniel is referring to, “how can you explain your tumbler then?”

“I work in advertising.” Daniel explains, “and sometimes alcohol is needed for brainstorming.”

“Well I guess I should be glad that you get inspiration from alcohol but not cocaine or meth,” Seongwoo sasses, handing the tumbler back to Daniel.

“Jaehwan sometimes does this too,” Daniel reveals, “if, one day, you see him bringing his own tumbler, you now know why. He’s very bad at drinking though.”

“You don’t seem to be very good at it either,” Seongwoo quips, rolling his eyes.

“You’ll regret saying this,” Daniel gently taunts.

Seongwoo shrugs his shoulders before he points to the road on his left, “we’ll see. My shop is that way.”

“Oh right, see you then,” Daniel waves with his empty hand.

“See you.”

* * *

 

Daniel is having dinner with Jaehwan and Sewoon. Yet, for the whole time, his eyes and his hands are glued to his phone. 

 

 **Ong Seongwoo** :  
By the way, where’s the video? ¯\\_( ツ )_/¯

 

 **Kang Daniel** :  
Not home yet.  
Send you when I get back, you at home now?

 

 **Ong Seongwoo** :  
No. Karaoke with colleagues. You?

 

 **Kang Daniel** :  
Bulgogi.

 

 **Ong Seongwoo** :  
Bulgogi alone? (@_@)

 

While Jaehwan is slightly annoyed by how Daniel is completely absorbed into texting (with someone Jaehwan thinks he knows), the better part of him is relieved to see him ready to move on.

“New guy, huh?” asks Jaehwan, placing his head on Daniel’s shoulder in order to peep at his phone, “good thing you are quick on your feet this time.”

“You are so nosy,” Daniel quips, placing his phone back-side up before he picks up his chopsticks with noticeable wonder on his face, “god, did you two also finish my portion?”

“You got something else to eat anyway,” Sewoon remarks, eyeing at Daniel’s phone.

-

Seongwoo is bored.

He promised to attend this karaoke party only because it is supposed to be a farewell for Minki, who will be transferred to another branch starting from next Monday. Seongwoo is definitely not a fan of these non-official gatherings with colleagues, especially when he is not close with anyone except Minki and Jisung.

He runs his eyes over his phone, only to find two blue ticks next to his text to Daniel. Knowing that it means Daniel has read the text, an unsettling feeling starts to grow on Seongwoo as to why Daniel suddenly stops replying to him.  Does his reply come off as a bit too abrasive by presuming that Daniel is having dinner alone? Does Daniel understand that he is just joking? Is Daniel also carefully drafting a reply in order to retain the momentum of their conversation?

Before Seongwoo can reach a conclusion, he sees that Daniel’s chat status changes from “ _last seen today at 21:35_ ” to “ _online_ ”. Immediately, he holds his phone closer to his eyes with both hands, and Daniel’s status changes from “ _online_ ” to “ _typing..._ ”

 

 **Kang Daniel** :  
Of coz not ( ￣◇￣ ;) with Jae and Sewoon, but they ate my portion ( ￣ ^ ￣ ) ゞ

 

Seongwoo holds his phone against his chin as he tries to come up with an appropriate reply.

 

 **Ong Seongwoo** :  
Must be a fun time. Am a bit bored here (._.)

 

Daniel then feels the unusual urge to finish his beer before he sends his next text.

 

 **Kang Daniel** :  
Wanna have a walk?

 

 **Ong Seongwoo** :  
Why not?¯\\_( ツ )_/¯ But where should we meet tho?

 

 **Kang Daniel** :  
Bang Bang Bang.

-

Daniel is anxious, and he does not know why.

He is now standing by the convenience store in Seomyeon waiting for Seongwoo. With the front camera on his phone, he checks out his hair, just to make sure it is styled properly.

And there he sees Seongwoo from afar.

Daniel thought he was mistaken, but there is, on Seongwoo’s head, a bow-tie made with his own hair.

 

“What was that?” asks Daniel, pointing at Seongwoo’s hair bow-tie.

“One of my colleagues is leaving, and he really likes Lady Gaga, So we had a Lady Gaga costume party just to bid him farewell,” Seongwoo explains flatly.

“You do pay effort to make sure you fit the theme,” Daniel half-heartedly compliments.

“Oh wait until you see my colleagues’ costumes before you say that,” Seongwoo rejects, “this is the simplest thing you can do that makes you look Gaga-esque, if you think about what she usually wears.One of my colleague has put on a bubble dress and she can’t even sit down.”

Daniel responds with a wild laugh before Seongwoo continues, “so, where are we going?”

“I...I don’t know,” answers Daniel, scratching the back of his neck, “I was just trying to see if we can kill some time together.”

“Ummm…, shall we reinforce your crippling alcoholism?” Seongwoo suggests, heading towards the convenience store while Daniel follows.

-

Both Daniel and Seongwoo are now holding a can of beer in their hands while they stroll along the sidewalk with no apparent destinations or objectives.

A street stall that sells wooden chopsticks, however, catches Seongwoo’s attention. His gaze remains at that stall as they walk pass by, to which Daniel actually notices.

“Quite cute, right?” asks Seongwoo, turning his head around and eyeing at the middle-aged couple who owns the stall .

“You mean the chopsticks?” Daniel wonders before downing his can of beer. 

“Tsk, I mean the couple!” Seongwoo counters as he turns his head back to look at Daniel, “they grow old and run a shop together, you know, a simple, carefree life - something that I always want.”

“You do know that selling chopsticks is not the purpose of that stall, right?” Daniel inquires.

“What do you mean,” Seongwoo asks with furrowed eyebrows, darting his eyes to the couple.

Daniel leans in whispers to Seongwoo’s ears, “It’s just a camouflage for an outpost.”

“An outpost for what?” Seongwoo utters calmly, secretly praising himself for staying composed even though he is caught off-guard by the close distance between Daniel’s face and his.

“For illegal gambling dens, or for dens selling contraband tobaccos or drugs,” Daniel elaborates, “in case there are signs of a surprise police raid, these outposts can notify them for evacuation. Triad societies set up stalls like this nearby wherever they run illicit businesses.”

“What the fuck?” Seongwoo laughs, “have you read too many dystopian fictions or what?”

“I am serious!” Daniel insists, “take a closer look of those chopsticks, they are covered with dust! And who the hell can make a living by selling only wooden chopsticks nowadays?”

“We are in Seomyeon. There are tons of tourists,” Seongwoo retorts coldly, “are you a spy or what? Is that why you want stirred Marini like James Bond when you are drunk?”

“It’s shaken Martini.”

“Well, it’s a can of Coke if I remember correctly,” Seongwoo rolls his eyes, “Gees, you may not have alcoholism, but you definitely have persecutory delusion.”

“Fine,” utters Daniel, who then drags Seongwoo by his arm for a few more steps further from the stall, “just observe for a while and you’ll get what I mean.”

Seongwoo hides behind Daniel’s back as the two peeps at the stall from afar. A few seconds later, they see a woman approaching the stall, taking a glance of the wooden chopsticks collection.

“See? They _are_ selling chopsticks,” Seongwoo snorts victoriously with both of his hands on his waist, “stop your weird conspiracies.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions so quickly,” Daniel rebuts, pointing at the two stall owners, unaware that Seongwoo has already turned away, “look, they ignore the woman totally. They didn’t even stand up from their seats to welcome her.”

Just as Daniel predicts, the woman leaves a few more seconds later after getting cold shoulders from the couple.

“See? she left,” Daniel points out before he turns his head around to look at Seongwoo, only to find him a few steps away, crouching down and staring at the snails by the drain enthusiastically.

Seongwoo is seemingly hesitant if he should poke the snails (that he finds endearing). He holds out a finger in the air, moving towards its shell at an extremely slow pace.

With a smirk, Daniel carefully and silently crouches down next to Seongwoo, who remains absolutely undistracted from the crawling snails.

_RAAAAAHHHH!_

Seongwoo literally jumps from Daniel’s scream, dropping his can of beer at the same time.

“YOU ARE SO STUPID!” Seongwoo scowls, slapping Daniel’s back before crunching down again while the latter laughs boisterously.

“Why are we squatting in the middle of the street staring at these disgusting snails?” asks Daniel, “I hate bugs, I mean, creepy-crawlies in general.”

“To kill time,” Seongwoo retorts, “and they are not creepy, I hate creepy-crawlies too, but snail is an exception. They are… kinda cute.”

“You are definitely cuter.”

For a while, Seongwoo does not know how to respond, he can only turn his head and reciprocate Daniel’s gaze.

“Compared to those snails, of course I’m cuter,” Seongwoo jests, trying his best not to stutter.

They then continue to vacantly look at the snails in complete silence, one that both of them are surprised by how comfortable it feels. Seongwoo holds out his finger again with an attempt to poke the snails, only to be interrupted by a serious voice from behind, “excuse me, is that can of beer on the floor yours?”

Both of them stand up straight slowly and turn around, and there they see a police officer standing in front of them. Immediately, they realise the policeman is going to fine them for littering.

“Does that can of beer on the floor belong any one of you?” the policeman asks again, pointing at the can.

They stand in complete silence for a few seconds until Daniel hesitantly utters, “ _Go…gomen nasai~ watashi wa nihon-jin des~_ ”

The officer gapes at Daniel in utter confusion, titling his head with narrowed eyes.

“Jap… Japanese,” Daniel points to himself with a beam, forcefully adding stutters to his speech.

“Oh… Jap… Japanese!” the policeman lifts his chin, realising there is a language barrier to overcome, “shit…, um…, er, here, in Busan, no litter! _Hajima_ litter! Do you get it? Trash goes to the trash can!”

Daniel scratches the back of his neck with furrowed brows, acting as if he does not understand a word.

“Can you tell him no littering here?” the policeman asks Seongwoo.

Seongwoo does not know _a single word_ in Japanese, but he thoroughly knows he has to go with the flow. There is no way he can reveal that he actually understands the policeman perfectly.

“ _Ni hao_ ,” Seongwoo greets with a bow, utilising the only Chinese phrase he knows.

“ _Ni_ … _ni hao_?” the policeman blurts.

“Err…, _watashi wa_ Japanese,” Daniel reiterates in broken sentences, who then points to Seongwoo, “ _anata wa_ Chinese des.”

“Oh…” the policeman exclaims in epiphany, giving up on charging them, “um…, okay okay okay, welcome to Busan!”

“Yeah Yeah Yeah!” Daniel drawls vivaciously.

“Lovers?” asks the policeman, pointing at the two.

Without hesitation, Daniel wraps his arm around Seongwoo’s neck with a smile. Seongwoo then giggles nervously and confirms, “yeah! Lover!”

“I see, very match! Welcome to Busan, but next time,” the policeman hastily utters as he picks up the can of beer from the floor and tosses it to a trash can nearby, “no litter! Okay? No litter!”

“Okay!” Daniel blurts, holding out his thumb.

“Enjoy Busan!” says the policeman , reciprocating the gesture.

The two nod with a smile and turn away, feeling relieved for being so close from getting fined. A few more steps later, Seongwoo can feel his phone in his pocket vibrate, and it starts to ring.

“ _♫♫ Bicheul sodneun Sky~~~♫♫ geu arae seon ai I~~~_ ”

“Shit,” Seongwoo mutters, fearing that his ringtone may bust their act.

Both Seongwoo and Daniel slowly and nervously turn their heads to look at the policeman. Unsurprisingly, they find himstanding still with a flushed face and clenching fists.

“FREEZE! HOLD STILL RIGHT THERE!”

“RUN!” Daniel shouts as he hurriedly holds Seongwoo’s wrist and takes off.

-

The policeman loses them after the two take a turn and hide themselves in an accessible washroom.

“Phew…,” Daniel exhausts with a laugh, “gees, why did you suddenly use Chinese?”

“I don’t freaking speak Japanese! And I’m nervous!” Seongwoo pants, taking out his phone to see who called him. He leaves the washroom and dials back while Daniel grooms his hair in front of the mirror.

“Yeah…, sure, I’m coming back,” Seongwoo assures to the person on the other side of the phone, “bye.”

“Boyfriend?” Daniel asks, trying his best to sound as nonchalant as possible in order to cover his desire to find out the answer.

“No,” Seongwoo responds with a snort, “just my colleagues asking me go to back to karaoke cause it’s time to cut the cake and for group photo.”

“I see.”

“Got anything to do right now?”

Daniel shakes his head.

* * *

 

“I’m back,” Seongwoo merrily barges into the room where his colleagues are still having karaoke.

“Hey!” Jisung yells across from the room while all eyes land on Seongwoo, who is still standing by the door, “where have you been, huh?”

“Just for a walk.” Seongwoo explains, pulling Daniel into the room, “my friend, Daniel.”

Daniel is noticeably nervous as he waves his hands tentatively with a forced smile.

“No wonder you are not coming back for the cake until we called you,” Jisung teases, “you got something else to eat.”

“Tsk, don’t be like that,” Seongwoo rolls his eyes with a laugh, “with all the Gaga costumes we have on us we’re going to scare him away even without all these roasting.”

 

Both Jisung and Minki can tell Seongwoo is noticeably more lively after his “walk”. He shares his cake with Daniel before he grabs a mic and starts to sing. Daniel, on the other hand, is too shy to sing in front of a group of strangers, and he remains silent and sits by the corner.

Seongwoo is solo-singing Big Bang’s Let Not Fall in Love in the room, and he can see Daniel mumbling the lyrics.

_“♫♫Don’t ask me anything~I can’t give you an answer~We’re so happy as we are right now♫♫”_

_“♫♫Don’t try to have me ~ Let’s just stay like this ~ You’re making it more painful, why?♫♫”_

Seeing how Daniel can easily follow the lyrics, Seongwoo moves towards him and tries to get him to sing along, which Daniel immediately shakes his head and rejects, “I…I can't sing.”

“Oh come on, no one here can sing well anyway, you have heard all of us,” Seongwoo assures, dragging Daniel by his arm to stand up.

Daniel reluctantly follows Seongwoo, albeit with a smile, and the two stands right in front of the TV screen.

“Let’s give my friend some encouragement, can we?” Seongwoo asks through the mic before the next chorus starts, to which the crowd responds by cheering. The two then start to sing in a high-spirited manner.

“ _♫♫ Let’s not fall in love, we don’t know each other very well yet. ♫♫ Actually, I’m a little scared, ♫♫ I’m sorry. ♫♫”_

Seongwoo wants to place his arm on Daniel’s shoulder as a gesture of friendliness, but before he has the chance, he could feel Daniel’s arm wrapping around his neck. They then start to move their bodies left and right in accordance with the rhythm.

On one hand, Seongwoo is mildly surprised by Daniel’s act, considering that he was rather shy just less than a minute ago. On the other hand, he cannot help but relate to how Daniel did the same when the policeman asked them if they are lovers. He turns his head to look at Daniel, only to find him completely absorbed into singing. With that, he turns back to focus on the screen and finish the song.

_“♫♫Let’s not make promises, you never know when tomorrow comes. ♫♫But I really mean it when I say. ♫♫ I like you ♫♫_ ”

* * *

 

Seongwoo is lying on his bed when his phone nudges him.

 

**Kang Daniel** :  
Home? （＾◇＾）

 

**Ong Seongwoo** :  
Yeah, on bed, you?

 

**Kang Daniel** :  
Not yet, in a bar nearby with other friends.

 

**Ong Seongwoo** :  
Thought you said you need to work early tomorrow? ( ￣◇￣ ;)

 

Only after he sent the text does Seongwoo realise he sounds weirdly possessive.

**Kang Daniel** :  
Just for a while. Got nothing to do anyway.

Seongwoo is too sleepy to craft a meticulous reply, but he still wants to counteract his attitude from his last text.

**Ong Seongwoo** :  
Have fun! Meet hot people there! Sleep now ^^

Once again, he realises he is over-compensating and comes off as passive-aggressive only after sending his text. He curses at himself and buries his face onto his pillow, once again asking himself what is he suddenly so worried that Daniel will not text him back.

Slowly, he dozes off to sleep, unaware that there is a new text on his phone.

 

**Kang Daniel** :  
Good night. See you tmr (´･ω･`)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. The song that Daniel sings when he is drunk is Bang Bang Bang by Big Bang. Seongwoo's ringtone is I by Taeyeon. The song that they sing together is Let's Not Fall in Love by Big Bang. This is supposed to be a prequel for my last fic so I have chosen songs from 2015 to match the timeline LOL. 
> 
> 2\. There are actually reported sightings of UFO in Busan in 2012. Feel free to google it.
> 
> 3\. I actually have a twitter account, but I rarely update (just like my tumblr LOL), except when I rant about writer's block and how stressed I feel when it comes to facing real life LOL. 
> 
> 4\. I don't think this fic will be as angsty as the original fic, not even remotely, but I guess I am rather bad at perceiving how angsty my writing style is, so we shall see.
> 
> 5\. sorry for the late update once again, gotta face real life (sadly), wish I can engross myself into writing and reading fics 24/7 T.T
> 
> Anyway, too much bullshit here, sorry. Thank you for your tolerance and I will update soon. XOXO.


	3. Day 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for updating late. Hope I can make it up by this (rather) long update. Will beta soon. This chapter took me DAYS, especially when life is getting busy T.T
> 
> Comments are most definitely welcomed. Thank you. XOXO.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Name?”
> 
> “Ong Seongwoo.”
> 
> “Can you describe your first experience with Starbucks?”
> 
> “Well, I wasn’t a fan of coffee during high school, and my ex-boyfriend during that time didn’t really like dates in coffee shops, cause he wanted more privacy. I was also a beer person rather than a coffee person during college, until I had a crush on a friend of a friend in my class. He gets Starbucks every day, and I kinda need to find something mutual as a conversation starter, so I also get Starbucks whenever I go to class.”
> 
> “That’s cute.”
> 
> “That’s more like dumb, and the dumbest part is I want to make sure he knows I also drink Flat White with 2% milk, just like what he always orders. You know how Starbucks baristas always write your order on your cup, right? I always make sure that side is visible to him. And he did find out eventually. That’s when we started to get close.”
> 
> “It’s not a dumb move then, it worked!”
> 
> “A few weeks later, he told me he would not get Starbucks anymore. Apparently he became interested in another guy who has been very hispter-y and artsy-fartsy, you know, that kind of person who really despises Starbucks as a legit coffee shop. He didn’t want to bump into that person on campus with a cup of Starbucks in his hand.”
> 
> “Oh...,”
> 
> “And he never knew I once liked him. He even showed me pictures of that guy and asked me how should he text him back sometimes. We would still sit together during classes; and I would still buy a cup of Flat White with 2% milk before going to class because, you know, I can’t let him know what is my original purpose of getting Starbucks. I have to complete the act, for the whole semester.”
> 
> “That’s sad. So, will you still be reminded of him when you order Flat White?”
> 
> “Nah. Nothing happened between us, even though I remember everything. I guess that’s love.”

Daniel can see Seongwoo standing by a table in Starbucks as soon as the lift opens.

Unlike the last two days, Seongwoo is wearing a black button-down shirt and a pair of black trousers, together with his black tote bag that he always carries, an outfit that he knows well that it accentuates the contours of his neckline.

“You are quite early today,” Daniel greets, walking towards Seongwoo, “why are you not in your Innisfree uniform?”

“It’s my day-off. I usually have day-offs on Fridays,” answers Seongwoo.

“Why are you here then? You live nearby?”

“Cause yesterday night you said see you tomorrow, and now it’s tomorrow,” Seongwoo answers with a smile.

Daniel’s tumbler was close to his lips, but he puts it down on the table after hearing Seongwoo’s answer.  Slowly, he utters, “I… I thought you have to work today and I was just seeing if we may bump into each other. I don’t know you have day-off today.”

Seongwoo’s smile turns into a forced one following Daniel’s reply. He turns his head away and brushes his hair at the same time, tearing any eye contact away from Daniel.

“You came all the way here from home?” asks Daniel with a mixture of sorry and concern.

“Of course not,” Seongwoo stutters with nervous laughters, “just passing by. I…I have to find Jisung for lunch. It’s his shift today.”

“I see.”

 

The two then shares a moment of silence while Daniel takes a large gulp of beer from his tumbler.

“By the way,” Daniel nudges after a pause.

“What,” Seongwoo responds with noticeable deflation.

“What…, what are you doing tonight?” Daniel asks cautiously.

 

Immediately, Seongwoo turns his head back with his face brightened,  knowing exactly why Daniel is asking him this.

 

“You are asking me out,” Seongwoo quips with a smug smile.

“I’m..., I’m,” Daniel weakly disputes, unable to paraphrase his question, “I’m just asking, you know, umm..., what are you doing tonight?”

“Isn’t this a date then? ” Seongwoo asserts again triumphantly, fervently starting at Daniel’s eyes, “ _you are asking me out._ ”

“I’m just asking if you _um_...,” Daniel blabbers, tucking his chin to hide his upward curving lips.

“Y _ou are asking me out, you are asking me out, you are asking me out, you are asking me out_ ,” Seongwoo sing-songs, hopping up and down.

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Daniel accepts his defeat with a smile, “I’m asking you out.”

“Where are we going then?” Seongwoo follows.

“I’ve yet to come up with an idea,” Daniel admits.

“Tsk, you are all talk,” Seongwoo jests as he raises his hand to playfully smack Daniel’s shoulder, but Daniel leans back in time to dodge his attack.

With a laugh, Seongwoo tries to hit him with another hand, but he also misses when Daniel once again agilely swerves and turns around. Just as he is about to lodge his third slap, he pauses right away when Daniel stiffens and stares at someone afar by another table.

Seongwoo follows Daniel’s gaze to see what is he looking at; and there he sees Daniel’s ex-boyfriend, who is leaning on his French boyfriend’s shoulder. Seongwoo has never seen him, but that person matches perfectly with Jaehwan’s description two days ago.

“My ex,” Daniel lowly utters as he turns back to their table.

“I know,” Seongwoo answers cursorily.

“You know?”

“I mean, I can tell from your frown,” Seongwoo defends, trying to sound as casual as possible, “when did you guys break up?”

“Last weekend, that afternoon before you bump into me in Seomyeon,” Daniel answers emotionlessly.

“No wonder...,” Seongwoo lifts his chin and continues to act as if it is his first time to piece all the clues together, taking another glance of Daniel’s ex, “is that his new guy next to him?”

“He didn’t find a _new_ guy; he has been with him all along unbeknownst to me,” Daniel reveals, “I thought he only hooked up with him once, turns out I was too dumb to ever notice anything.”

“Oh…, so…, both also work here?”

“Yeah, to be precise, he’s in the same project team with me,” Daniel repeats what Seongwoo has known, “his new boyfriend is our Creative Director.”

“That sounds like you are stuck in a very shitty situation,” Seongwoo affirms, who then takes a glance across that table, “and they are now kissing. Eww, I hate public display of affection.”

“Yeah, They do that very often in front of everyone,” Daniel casually answers, restraining himself from turning around to take a look, “I don’t know. Guess Europeans are more open when it comes to showing affection.”

“You shouldn’t reach this conclusion simply because his boyfriend is French,” Seongwoo gently counters.

Daniel furrows his eyebrows and asks, “how come you know he’s French?”

“Uh..., uh...., he, he..., he looks like French, yeah,” Seongwoo blabbers as he darts his eyes away, diverging their topic immediately, “so you gotta see them getting lovey-dovey all day? That’s painful as fuck. They are kinda rubbing it in.”

“What else can I do? Go and beat them up?” says Daniel, contorting a languid smile.

“Umm…,” says Seongwoo as he grips Daniel’s wrist, “come with me.”

“To where?”

“Just follow me,” Seongwoo drags Daniel towards the exit of the lobby.

-

Seongwoo continues hold on Daniel’s wrist as the two strides towards their destination — the dead-end alleyway next to their office building where only few people pass by. He swears Daniel’s body temperature is unusually high, but he still wants this brief body contact to last as long as possible.

“Isn’t this better?” Seongwoo asks as he releases his grip on Daniel’s wrist, secretly wishing their walk would last longer “no one’s here, and your ex will not be making out with someone else in your face, at least during lunch hours.”

Amused, Daniel snorts and replies, “you are weird, not weird-weird, but like, smart-weird.”

“Says the weird-weird one who believes in UFO,” Seongwoo sasses with a laugh and turns his head around.

“THEY ARE REAL,” Daniel grumbles, “anyway, guess you should introduce this place to my ex; so that they won’t disgust everyone nearby when they kiss or make out or do anything grossly intimate.”

“By that, do you mean you don’t like it here?” Seongwoo pouts his lips, trying to act cute.

“Oh no no no,” Daniel replies casually, finishing the beer in his tumbler, “why wouldn’t I like it? It’s quiet; only the two of us are here.”

Seongwoo is silent upon Daniel’s answer, allowing that niggling feeling persists in his stomach. He can’t help but ask himself again and again the same question, one that lingers in his brain long after Daniel has left.

_So he likes it because it’s quiet?_

_Or is it because only the two of us are here?_

* * *

Daniel and Seongwoo are supposed to meet at 9:30 that night.

“I got out. Can you see me now?” asks Seongwoo across the phone, stepping out of the coffee shop, “I told you to turn right when you see Tony Moly.”

Seongwoo turns his head left and right repeatedly, until he sees Daniel jogging towards him with his hand waving.

“Gees, the directions you give are so complicated. Why don’t you just tell me it’s opposite to Viva Love Motel?” Daniel remarks as he ends the call and tucks his phone into his pocket.

“Cause I never know you are an expert when it comes to the locations of love motels?” retorts Seongwoo.

“Anyway,” Daniel rolls his eyes, “I bought tickets for movie. Let’s go.”

“I can’t leave yet,” Seongwoo rejects, “I’m with my friend.”

“Huh?” asks Daniel, mildly surprised by the answer, “who?” 

“Daehwi,” Seongwoo answers, pointing at the table furthest from the entrance through the glass window.

“That’s Jisung,” answers Daniel with confusion.

“No, not the one facing us, of course that’s Jisung,” Seongwoo chides, “I’m talking about the one sitting opposite to him, with his back facing us.”

“Just ask them to come along, I’m fine with it,” Daniel offers.

“But Daehwi is waiting for a friend,” Seongwoo once again rejects.

“Wait, I don’t get it,” Daniel remains to be confused, “if it’s Daehwi who is waiting for his friend, what’s that have to do with you then?”

“Daehwi met a guy from Seoul on Facebook, who really fancies him,” Seongwoo explains, “that guy keeps on messenging him on Facebook. He really digs Daehwi and Daehwi digs him too. Turns out that guy is coming to Busan today for a business event and they’re supposed to meet-up tonight.”

“And that guy never showed up?” Daniel tries to predict what happens next.

“Not really. At around…, 5 o’clock? They did meet briefly at the hotel lobby where that guy stayed. He said he had to go for the meeting then, and he will pick Daehwi up for late dinner afterwards,” Seongwoo elaborates, “Jisung and I were there too, hiding at somewhere far away of course — cause Daehwi wants us to be there; he is always nervous when he meets a new guy.”

“I still don’t get it,” Daniel further inquires, “why can’t that guy meet Daehwi after his business event has ended ?”

“He said he wanted to say hello first in case it gets too late,” Seongwoo explains

“But it’s almost 10 o’clock. Did that guy at least call or something?”

“Not yet.”

“Can’t Daehwi call then?”

“He doesn’t have his phone number,” Seongwoo answers, “that guy said his SIM card from Seoul won’t work here in Busan. Only he has Daehwi’s number.”

“That’s bullshit,” Daniel scoffs, hypothesising that the guy must haves ditched Daehwi, “why wouldn’t his SIM card work here? We’re still in Korea. He just doesn’t want to be contactable.”

“I don’t know,” Seongwoo shrugs his shoulders, “anyway. The main point is — Daehwi is worried about that guy’s safety. That’s why we’re here with him.”

“For what?” Daniel quips, “he won’t be dead all of a sudden.”

“Well…,” Seongwoo is visibly hesitant for a moment before he continues, “basically, Daehwi’s ex-boyfriends… um…, all encountered an abrupt cessation of their existence out of accidents.”

“So you mean…,” Daniel furrows his eyebrows, “all Daehwi’s ex-boyfriends really did _die_.”

“If you boil down all the stories into one sentence, then, yes, you are right,” Seongwoo admits, “Daehwi is extremely worried that the guy may…, you know, encounter unfortunate events. That’s why we are waiting for that guy with him.”

“To be brutally honest, it’s much more likely that the guy has copped out. All the clues point towards that direction. He can’t be dead, that’s for sure,” Daniel reasons, “It’s better if you tell your friend not to wait for that guy any longer.”

Seongwoo is half-convinced, especially when he has been aimlessly sitting at the coffee shop for more than 4 hours. In fact, this possibility is establishing a stronger and stronger presence in his mind ever since he finished his second cup of Flat White.

He turns his head to look at Jisung and Daehwi’s table again before he replies, “how can I tell though? He digs that guy so much.”

“Ask Jisung?” Daniel suggests.

 

After a nod, Seongwoo takes out his mobile and calls Jisung.

“Hey it’s me, _don’t look out_ ,” says Seongwoo across the line, “I want to ask; is he still very confident that the guy will call him back?”

“Yeah,” Jisung replies softly, as if Daehwi can hear the other side of the phone.

“Come out. Just say you need to pee or poop or something,” Seongwoo asks before he ends the call.

-

“Oh Daniel you are here too,” says Jisung as soon as he joins the two, looking at Daniel, “you know what’s going on right?”

“I don’t think that guy is coming,” Daniel cuts to the chase.

Immediately, Jisung stares at Seongwoo and groans, “see? Bitch, I freaking told you!”

“Tsk,” Seongwoo rolls his eyes, “just tell Daehwi the same thing then. We wouldn’t have to wait for so long if you are brave enough to tell what you firmly believe in.”

“Not me again, please,” Jisung crosses his arms, “I have had three cups of Americano already. My stomach hurts.”

“It has to be you. Why would he believe me when I’m usually the most cynical one?” Seongwoo counters.

“Oh so you do know that?” Jisung retorts (and Seongwoo gives him the death stare).

“Come on, Yoon Jisung, you are like the parent amongst us,” Seongwoo pleads, “he trusts you.”

“You give it a try first,” Jisung proposes, “I really need to take a break from soothing him for so long.”

“Fine,” Seongwoo reluctantly agrees before he approaches and opens the front door, “You better soon get ready for next then. You know me, It won’t go well anyway.”

-

Daniel and Jisung continue to stand outside of the coffee shop, staring at Daehwi and Seongwoo’s table through the glass window.

“To be honest, don’t you also think it’s quite obvious that the guy has ditched Daehwi?” Daniel asks casually, trying to open up the conversation with Jisung.

“Well, love is blind,” Jisung offers, “or else why would Seongwoo agrees to fuck with you on you guys’ first date? He never does that.”

“WHAT..., WHAT?”

“Gees, quit acting,” Jisung snorts, “yesterday night, Jonghyun, I mean, Minki’s boyfriend, saw you two leaving from a public accessible toilet together, when Seongwoo is supposedly _taking a walk_ during our karaoke session. He then pulls you to join us. What else would that be?”

“Whoa Whoa Whoa. No! We are not fucking! For god’s sake, we’re just...,” Daniel does not even know how to explain why they are hiding from the policeman in the first place.

“Oh bitch please! What else would that be when two people, with no physical disabilities at all, enter and leave an accessible washroom together?” Jisung asks rhetorically, “you know, Seongwoo is never that raunchy naughty kinky type. I’m a bit surprised too. Guess he really likes you.”

“We’re just...”

“Anyway,” Jisung interjects again, “what I want to say is: my birthday is coming soon. Just come to my party with Seongwoo.”

“Yeah, sure, but umm...,” Daniel wants to explain everything, but he is stopped by Seongwoo, who storms towards them after opening the front door with a bang.

 

“Apparently I’m much more cynical than I imagine. He’s not even slightly moved,” Seongwoo groans, “Yoon Jisung, your turn.”

“ _Arghhhh_ , FINE,” Jisung concedes, eyeing at Daniel, “but the fact is — he will cry like shit for sure, and it will be weird if a stranger is here.”

“I... I can leave,” Daniel agrees.

“Just leave with Seongwoo, I’ll handle it,” Jisung offers with a wry smile.

“Are you sure?” asks Seongwoo.

“Yeah, you will just get irritated anyway, which adds no good to the whole scene,” Jisung sasses.

“True, and I’m too tired to act like I want to stay here any longer,” Seongwoo strolls towards Jisung for a hug, “but still, just call me if it goes out of hand, okay?”

Jisung murmurs into Seongwoo ears before he lets go of the hug, “use protection.”

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Seongwoo smacks Jisung on his shoulder with a scowl.

“I’m dead-ass serious,” Jisung waves goodbye as he barges into the coffee shop, “bye.”

* * *

 

“I guess we have to re-schedule our movie night,” says Daniel as the two slowly stroll on the pedestrian sidewalk.

“Yeah, I gotta go home. Got morning shift tomorrow, and we got a new supervisor, I can’t be late,” Seongwoo agrees, turning his left and right as they stand by the empty crossroads, “argh, it’s so hard to find a taxi at this time.”

“Do you mind if we walk?” asks Daniel.

“You mean walking back home?” Seongwoo wonders with his brow scrunched up, “that will take years.”

“I mean, we are quite near to our office. If you don’t mind, we can walk to the car park to get my project team’s car, then I can drive you home,” Daniel proposes.

“Why not? Let’s go.”

-

Daniel still cannot find his car after the two wander back and forth in the basement the third time. He keeps on smashing the buttons on his remote car key, but none of the cars respond to it.

“How come you would forget where have you parked your car?” Seongwoo cackles.

“Cause it’s Jaehwan who drove it last time,” Daniel explains, “Just stand here, I’ll go search that part again and come to pick you up.”

Seongwoo obliges and stands by the corner while Daniel saunters towards the other end.

It is Seongwoo’s first time to visit this basement. Never does he realise that the smell of damp can be so strong. Exhausted, he wants lean against the wall, but he chooses not to when he sees clear trails of mouldon it while cockroaches agilely crawl near the pipes.

Soon, a continuous thump from the car below the flickering light catches Seongwoo’s attention. He cautiously tiptoes towards the car, where it eerily starts to tumble. Worse, Seongwoo swears there is a human voice yearning for urgent assistance.

“ _Anyone here~? I…, I am stuck, help me._ ”

The whole situation, to Seongwoo’s extreme terror, reminds him of Taedong’s story two days ago.

Seongwoo cannot breathe properly, it feels as if someone is choking him. His heart is racing and all he wants to do is to curl up and wait for Daniel. Seongwoo turns his head to search for him, but he is no where to be found.

Worse, the thumping and the cry for help both become louder and louder.

“ _Help, help me~_ ”

“O.. okay, don’t… don’t kill me please,” Seongwoo responds with a shaky voice. With a deep breath in, Seongwoo takes the largest step possible and makes a violent knock on the hood of the car.

And there he sees Daniel hiding behind the car, clutching his stomach in fits of laughter.

“FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU KANG DANIEL!” Seongwoo sprints towards Daniel and beats him with his black tote bag repeatedly, realising it was Daniel all along, “FUCK YOU FOR REAL! FUCK YOUR WHOLE CLAN! YOU ARE SO STUPID!”

-

“Is that premeditated or what,” Seongwoo asks with dismay as soon as he lounges on the front passenger seat, “I still hate you, this conversation is not an indication of forgiveness. You are so stupid.”

“Nah, I just got reminded of Taedong’s story when I see the flickering light above my car,” answers Daniel, buckling his seatbelt before placing both hands on the steering wheel.

“You have heard of his story? How come? When?” Seongwoo wonders, recalling that Daniel was not there.

“That’s his pick-up story,” Daniel answers with contempt, “He occasionally delivers pizza to our office, and he tells this story every time he sees a new receptionist. I’ve heard about it for at least 4 times.” 

“No wonder,” Seongwoo nods, turning his head to take a glance of the back seats and find packets of cigarettes, “by the way, a lot of people in your team do smoke?”

“Nah, those are just empty packets from other countries.” Daniel explains, “the government hired our company to design graphic health warning labels on cigarette packets, you know, as an attempt to deter people from smoking. These are from Singapore and Hong Kong for our references. We got so many.”

“I see.”

Almost all of the warnings are unpleasingly gruesome and graphic, ranging from blackened teeth, tar-filled lungs to face tumour and shrunken skin. One of the warnings, however, grabs Seongwoo’s attention in particular. He stretches his arm to snatch that packet and throws it to Daniel, “I like this one. Matches you well.”

Daniel holds the packet in his hand to take a look, and there he sees the warning label that shows a downward-curving cigarette, together with the caption “SMOKING CAUSES IMPOTENCE”.

“Oh fuck off,” Daniel laughs, to which Seongwoo also joins the laughter, “but yeah, this one is simple yet effective. However…”

Daniel turns the packet upside down, and the cigarette on the warning label becomes upward-curving.

“It will be a boner if it’s placed that way,” Daniel jokes.

“You are so dumb,” Seongwoo quips, not realising that he is actually smiling, “can we go home now.”

“Yeah, right,” Daniel agrees, peeping at his leg room, “okay, _whooo_ , clutch, brake, throttle, okay okay.”

“You seem unusually nervous,” Seongwoo points out, who is taken back by how Daniel seems to be extremely inexperienced in driving.

“Umm,” Daniel softly utters, “I can tell you why, but promise you’ll not be angry with me first.”

“Well, I’m already angry with you anyway,” Seongwoo teases, “spill the tea.”

“I’ve never had a passenger with me,” Daniel explains.

“This won’t affect how you drive,” Seongwoo jests.

“And I don’t have a driving license.”

Seongwoo whips his head over and stares at Daniel in disbelief.

“What?”

”Yeah, but I usually drive when our team has to buy props, so it... should be fine?”

“Why did you suggest driving me home then?” Seongwoo shrieks, with his eyes still on Daniel.

“Be…because, turns out, we didn’t really have a legit date,” Daniel slowly drawls, reciprocating Seongwoo’s gaze, “and I… I want to spend some quality time with you.”

Seongwoo turns his head to face the front window upon hearing the explanation, finding it impossible to control his grin as his heart leaps with joy, “you are stupid. Not cute-stupid, but stupid-stupid.”

“Do you still want me to drive you back home? We…, we can call a cab,” Daniel blabbers, trying to remedy the situation.

“Nah, just get your ass up,” Seongeoo rejects.

“Huh? Why?”

“I’ll drive.”

* * *

The two arrives by Seongwoo’s home around 20 minutes later.

“I never know you are such an expert driver,” Daniel marvels.

“Since when have I ever failed to surprise anyone?” Seongwoo smirks, getting off from the car in order to return the driving seat to Daniel, while the latter follows suit.

The two are now standing by their car near the sidewalk. Seongwoo swears the distance between them is so close that he could feel warmth radiating from Daniel’s face. None of the two seem to be bothered by their proximity from each other, something that Seongwoo cannot help but also notices.

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you,” Daniel lifts his chin and smiles, “Jisung just invited me to go to his party.”

“Yeah, he invites everyone, so come,” Seongwoo casually acknowledges.

“Jisung said I have to go with you,” Daniel adds.

Seongwoo cannot help but regurgitates Daniel’s words in a loop, perplexed as to whether he should place the emphasis of his reply on “ _Jisung said_ ”, or “ _with you_ ”.

Right as Seongwoo falls into silence, Daniel notices something landing on Seongwoo’s shoulder. He cranes his neck forward to take a closer look with scrunched eyebrows.

“What... what are you doing?” asks Seongwoo, unprepared for their absence of distance.

To Daniel’s loathing, it’s a mosquito.

“What..., what is it?” Seongwoo asks again with fear, knowing that something must be on his neck.

_BWAK!_

“The fuck!” Seongwoo bellows as he glares as Daniel, shocked by the slap on his neck. 

“Sor...sorry,” Daniel retracts his hand, realising he has overreacted, “there’s a mosquito.”

“Can’t you just fucking wave it away if it’s just a mosquito?” Seongwoo snarls with a mixture of rage and amusement, “gees, I lose count on how much you have owed me today.”

Seongwoo then tries to lightly shoves Daniel’s shoulder as a revenge, but the latter once again swerves away with admirable agility.

Daniel knows Seongwoo will not stop his attack here. He stumbles a step further backwards with snickers, only to have his heel colliding with one of the front tyres. Losing his balance, he starts to fall backwards and he’s sure his head will gloriously smash the front window As a desperate attempt to steady himself, he hurriedly grabs Seongwoo’s arm.

Yet, this results in Daniel also dragging Seongwoo towards his direction. With a bang, Daniel’s back lands hard on the hood of his car, while Seongwoo also loses his balance and lands on top of Daniel, whose face is literally just centimetres from him.

Seongwoo can only freeze at this position, or so he wishes. For a while, the two fervently stare at each other with no exchange of words. Seongwoo is about to succumb to the temptation of closing the distance between their lips, until his analytical side successfully persuades him that Daniel  _may think this is getting too fast_.

Slowly, Seongwoo stands up straight by using both of his arms as support.  Daniel knows he should say something to fill in the silence, but he is too overwhelmed with what just happened to form a coherent sentence.

Then, without any warning, Seongwoo jerks forward and harshly punches Daniel’s chest.

_BAM!_

“Ouch...,” Daniel places his hand on his chest as he whimpers bitterly, “this hurts.”

“Well this still hurts too,” Seongwoo counters with a smirk, pointing at his own neck, “it’s a draw now. Bye.”

-

Seongwoo receives Daniel’s text right after he closes the front door.

 

**Kang Daniel** :

Does it still hurt? Sorry. ( ･᷄ὢ･᷅ )

Seongwoo is running through all the potential replies in his head. He wants to appear as angry, but also adorable at the same time. After a few taps, he stares at his phone with an idiotic beam, mentally praising himself for striking such a perfect balance.

 

Don’t try to act cute. I still hate you. ( 。 ì _ í 。 )

 

Before he has the time to press “send”, however, someone from behind nudges him.

“New boyfriend?” Seonho asks smugly.

“Bitch please, mind your own business,” Seongwoo scoffs as he hastily puts away his phone, ignoring his brother’s question.

“Oh bitch please, he’s asking you _does it still hurt_. What else would that be?” Seonho teases, “must be a good time.”

“Gees, we met just two days ago. We didn’t do anything,” Seongwoo rolls his eyes.

“Didn’t? Or Haven’t?” Seonho further questions, “I was at the balcony, trying to hang our laundry by the drying rack, and then I saw you two making out downstairs.”

“We are not making out!” Seongwoo staunchly denies, pointing at the reddened area on his neck, “he’s asking me if it hurts because he was slapping a mosquito on my neck with disproportionate strength.”

“That’s a good excuse for a hickey.”

“Oh fucking stop over-analysing, god,” Seongwoo groans.

“I will stop over-analysing, if not, analysing at all, as long as you swear you have never over-analysed your deal with him.”

Seongwoo cannot utter a single word, because he thoroughly knows, round the clock, he _is_ over-analysing as to what is it between Daniel and himself. Instead, he silently takes out his phone and sends the unsent text.

“See?” Seonho snorts with a victorious smile, placing both of his hands on his waist,“someone is whipped.”

“Oh shut up,” Seongwoo snarls, connecting his phone with the charger by the coffee table, “I’m going to bath.”

-

Daniel receives Seongwoo’s text right after the car skids to a stop in the car park.

 

**Ong Seongwoo:**

Don’t try to act cute. I still hate you. ( 。 ì _ í 。 )

 

Daniel is shrouded by all kinds of considerations as to what should he reply next. He wants to maintain the momentum of their conversation, but he fears he may overdo it.

More fundamentally, he cannot even tell if Seongwoo is just being sassy, or, as Daniel hopes, something more than that.

He decides to occupy himself by tidying up the car first, starting by the cigarette packet that Seongwoo throws at him.

Daniel stares at the downward-curving cigarette on the warning label for a while before he flips it upside down.

And he flips it again.

And he flips it yet again.

An outlandish idea suddenly pops up in Daniel’s mind. Immediately, he reaches his phone and carefully crafts his message. After making sure he does not make any typos, he takes a big breath in and presses “send”.

-

Seongwoo is drying his hair in the bathroom when he can hear his phone in the living room rings, signalling a new text.

“Don’t freaking read my text,” Seongwoo yells from the bathroom, knowing that his nosy younger brother must be reading the text “by accident”.

“It’s on your lock screen, I can read it without touching your phone,” Seonho retorts, “such a sweet message.”

Upon hearing that, Seongwoo instantly jogs towards the coffee table and seizes his phone, ignoring that his hair is still dripping wet.

To Seongwoo’s utter disappointment, it appears to be nothing more than a pocket-text.

 

**Kang Daniel** :

i n 3^0ㄱ ! +nq

 

“Did you just try to fucking trap me by overhyping this obvious pocket-text?” Seongwoo blusters in annoyance.

“Yeah,” Seonho admits before he laughs rambunctiously.

“You know what, legend has it that people who tell lies will have to swallow a thousand needles when they get to hell,” Seongwoo rants, connecting his phone with the charger again before he goes back to the bathroom to dry his hair.

“I’ll see you there for sure if that’s true.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things:  
> 1\. Thought I can finish this story within 10,000 words. Guess I have grossly underestimate how long-winded I am, FML.
> 
> 2\. I guess it will help put things into context regarding Daehwi's scene in this chapter. But still, I think (and I hope) there shouldn't be any problems without reading it. Of course it is still advisable to take a look.
> 
> 3\. I am very motivated to write this fic but real life responsibilities are really killing me, and I swear this is the worst feeling on Earth (especially when Im not facing any kinds of writer's block at all). Hope I can still squeeze some time to update soon. *cries*
> 
> Anyway, thank you for your tolerance. XOXO. Will update soon^^.


	4. Day 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. Will beta soon. Comments are, as always, very welcomed. They are the reason why I want to update.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Name?”
> 
> “Jung Sewoon. I remember you, my boyfriend was interviewed by you a couple of days ago.”
> 
> “Yeah. you two always visit our shop as a pair, which is very cute.”
> 
> “Thank you.”
> 
> “And you two seem to share a very stable relationship, like, I have never seen you guys fight.”
> 
> “Oh, come on, of course we do fight, especially when we first started dating. He has a very weird sense of humour that I can’t always appreciate.”
> 
> “I…I guess I understand what do you mean, haha, maybe a bit too well.”
> 
> “Yeah, and his mouth also has zero filter too. Hahahahaha, but I got my weird side also, so it’s fine.”
> 
> “Yeah…”
> 
> “I don’t know, I guess arguments are bound to happen when you are in a relationship, cause you are incorporating someone, who is not identical with you, into your own life. We all see things very differently; and that means no one can seamlessly fit into your life.”
> 
> “This is very true.” 
> 
> “By that it also means there must be risk when you fall in love. Things may work out well, or maybe not. But you have to be willing to try in order to find out the answer. I…I’m very glad that I did. I… I don’t want to him to be the one that got away, yeah.”
> 
> “…”
> 
> “Anyway, sorry for overwhelming you with all these pseudo-philosophical bullshit, haha, can we go back to your interview about Starbucks?”
> 
> “Sure.”

Seongwoo’s alarm clock ticks at 8:30 a.m. sharp as usual, and he is not sure if he should pray for the mercy of death or the (unwanted) motivation to get up. Not until now does he finally lament staying up late simply because of his silly belief that Daniel will send him another text after that indecipherable one.

He snatches his phone from the nightstand to take a glance, and, to Seongwoo’s disappointment, he finds no new texts on his phone, unlike the day before.

Unsurprisingly, The feeling of grogginess intrudes Seongwoo’s body for the whole morning. After countless yawns (and a number of naps in the storage room), he knows there is an urgent need to visit Starbucks during the lunch break. 

On his way to the coffee shop, however, he answers to his gut feeling and chooses the dead-end alleyway as his destination instead. He knows that the chance is illusory, but, somehow, he wishes Daniel would be there. 

Of course, his hope was unanswered. Instead, he sees a man in a policeman uniform, standing by the other end of the alleyway 10 feet away from him.

Seongwoo leans against the wall as he stares blankly at the floor, keeping himself with a distance from the man. He has never seen anyone here whenever he visits this place. From the raised eyebrows of the policeman, Seongwoo can tell he shares a similar experience.

A few minutes later, the stranger slowly strolls towards Seongwoo, with an obvious intention to chat — something Seongwoo actually wants to avoid considering how sleepy he feels. 

“Hey,” greets the man with a bright smile, “so…, you just discovered my private paradise. Welcome.”

Seongwoo responds with a wheeze before he replies, “well, it wasmy private paradise yesterday, and my friend’s.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t on duty yesterday,” the man concedes with a diplomatic smile, “name’s Hyunbin.”

“Seongwoo.”

“So…, you work nearby?”

“Yeah, thereabouts,” Seongwoo affirms, secretly challenging himself why would he uses the archaic word _thereabouts_ at this particular moment, “you? Your beat is nearby?”

“Yeah, _thereabouts_ ,” Hyunbin playfully imitates Seongwoo’s tone, “waiting for your friend?”

“You can say that,” Seongwoo nods answers before he diverts, “you? skiving off here?”

“More or less, yeah, taking a break,” Hyunbin crinkles into a laugh after he answers, shrugging his shoulders, “if you are waiting for your friend, why don’t you… call him? You’ve been standing here for a few minutes.”

“I was just... trying to see if I may run into him here. We didn’t really.…schedule to meet, nothing’s fixed,” Seongwoo blabbers. He simply cannot explain why would he visit this place if his aim is to bump into Daniel.

“I see.”

“Anyway,” Seongwoo turns away for a yawn, “nice to meet you, gotta go.”

“You don’t want to wait for a longer while?” asks Hyunbin.

“Nah, he won’t be coming, I guess.”

“You…you’ll be here also tomorrow, right?”

“The decision is not entirely in my hands.”

* * *

Seongwoo goes back to his store directly after that brief encounter, forgetting to get his cup of Starbucks. He is now inattentively organising the bottles of nail polish on the shelf according their shades.

The sudden vibration form his pocket grabs Seongwoo’s attention. With haste, he takes out his phone, only find a new text from his brother, but not from someone he hopes.

Jisung, on the other hand, focuses on restocking brow pencils on the next shelf, until he sees Seongwoo arranging the nail polish from the darkest shade to the lightest — the reverse order of their usual practice.

“Gees. You got it all wrong,” Jisung nudges Seongwoo from behind, pointing at the bottles.

“Yeah, it’s all wrong, I got it all wrong,” Seongwoo replies half-heartedly without even turning his head to look at Jisung, as he continues to sort the bottles in the wrong order.

Knowing something is not right with the bizarrely offbeat answer, Jisung steps closer to his friend and asks, “what happened.”

“What do you mean by what happened,” Seongwoo brushes him off, “nothing happened.”

“Tsk, for the whole morning you look like you just ate shit,” Jisung recalls, “there must be something.”

“I said NO.”

“No? ” Jisung tries to hypothesise from another pespective, “umm…Had too much _fun_ last night yesterday with, _you know_ , huh?”

“You’re batshit crazy,” Seongwoo rolls his eyes before he re-arranges the nail polish in the correct order, “wedidn’t do anything, for real.”

“Didn’t? Or Haven’t?” Jisung teases as he joins in and helps Seongwoo.

“Oh fuck off, you sound _exactly_ like my brother,” Seongwoo rants, “he isn’t even texting me back, what kind of things we will be doing? On second thought, it will be super weird now if he comes to your birthday party but we lose steam.”

“Ohhh…,” Jisung yelps in epiphany, finally understanding Seongwoo’s weariness for the whole day, “you can always text him again though, isn’t it?”

“I don’t want to double-text him,” Seongwoo explains with woe, “like, I don’t want to be seen as too aggressive.”

“Putting aside the issue of double-texting,” Jisung proposes, “can we retrace your steps, so, what was his last text?”

Seongwoo is hesitant. Slowly, he drawls, “okay, so…, he asked me _does it still_ _hurt_ in the last text, with an emoji.”

Jisung stares at Seongwoo with wide eyes and raised eyebrows for a few seconds before he bawls, “you liar; you said you guys didn’t fuck.”

“ _Bitch please_ , listen to me first, this is out of context,” Seongwoo assures. He knows revealing the text will result in explosive reactions from Jisung, and he is unsure of how should he even start to explain, “he hit me hard by accident because there was a mosquito on my neck, and that’s why he asked me this.”

“That’s a borderline logical defence, go on,” Jisung utters as he crosses his arms.

“I feel like he’s trying to act cute, so I simply texted, _don’t try to act cute, I still hate you_ ,” Seongwoo continues, “with an emoji, of course.”

“And then?”

“ _Duh_ , he stopped replying,” Seongwoo surmises, taking out his phone to show Jisung the final text, “he sent me this, which is obviously a pocket-text, and then, _boom_ , he stopped.”

“Well,” Jisung comments as he squints at the text with lowered eyebrows, “my guess is he fell asleep when he is sending the text?”

“I guess so,” Seongwoo agrees, tucking his phone back into his pocket.

“Just text him back then,” Jisung proposes, “just ask him is he falling alseep when he sends that text, with an emoji.”

“I said — I don’t want to double-text him,” Seongwoo repeats, “by now, he must have known he has fallen asleep when he sent me this, and he’s not making it up. If he cares, he will at least send me an amended one this morning after he woke. But till now, he didn’t send me shit.”

“Gees, how old are you? Are you still in high school or what?” Jisung retorts, “I can’t imgine you still haven’t passed the stage of _who double-texted who_. Just take initaitive if you like him.”

“But maybe… maybe he’s not ready…? I think I should give him some time, cause, I don’t know, to break in someone new is always exhausting, yeah,” Seongwoo weakly defends, “and we met for 4 days only, and he has just broken up with someone else not long ago.”

“So?” Jisung coaxes with a snort, “time is not the only issue, it’s more about chemistry and compatibility. If you feel like there’s potential between you two, and you feel like he might think the same, why don’t you just give yourself a chance? You ask yourself — how long does it take to fall in love with someone? A mere second? Or something even shorter than that?”

Seongwoo pouts his mouth and becomes silent. He turns away to restock eyeliners on the other end of the shop in order to digest what Jisung has said, while the latter resumes his task of restocking brow pencils.

 

A few minutes later, Seongwoo walks towards Jisung and taps on his shoulder, “hey.”

“What,” Jisung responds flatly.

“Cover me. I want to make a phone call,” answers Seongwoo, strolling towards the storeroom.

“To whom?”

“Tsk, who else will that be?”

* * *

Daniel is in a state of extreme anxiety for the whole day.

He unlocks his phone for the 1000th time (or so it seems) to check if there are new messages. As time gone by, he starts to question himself more and more — _Is my text too agreesive? Does he actually understand what do I mean? If he does, why isn’t he replying? Will he think we are getting too quick?_

Just as he stands up from his desk in order to get some candies from the office pantry, his phones rings. Immediately, he reaches his pocket to take it out, and, to his utter delight, it’s Seongwoo.

“Hello,” greets Daniel, tyring to sound calm and collected.

“Uhh…, hey,” Seongwoo stutters, “are you…busy tonight?”

“Erm...,” Daniel is caught off-guard by Seongwoo’s straightforward inquiry, and he playfully mocks him by using Seongwoo’s answer yesterday to the same question, “are you asking me out?”

“Well…c..cause you asked me out yesterday, but turns out we didn’t spend much time together because of my friend,” Seongwoo slowly drawls, swearing to God that he is expending every inch of his courage within him, “so…, I was thinking if I should repay you. Do…do you still want to watch that movie? I’m free tonight.”

“Uh… let me check my schedule,” Daniel maintains his equanimity, “yeah, I…I’m fine with it. Let me pick you up after work?”

The movie was disastrously bad on almost every level. None of the two even want to talk about it after they walk out of the cinema. They are now wandering on the main street of the city centre, enjoying the surprisingly comfortable slent between them — until Daniel decides against so.

“Can I ask you something — did you… did you get my last message?” asks Daniel before he visibly swallows, darting his eyes away from Seongwoo in order to act nonchalant.

“The one asking me if it still hurts?” Seongwoo replies causally.

“No, the one after that,” Daniel clarifies.

“The pocket-text?” Seongwoo wonders.

“…What?”

“The one with no real words when you are about to fall asleep, right?” Seongwoo tries to confirm.

“…Never mind,” Daniel brushes it off with a smile.

Seongwoo finds Daniel’s answer very peculiar. He parts his lips, but he has no idea what to query. The two returns to silence for a few steps, until they walk pass another Innisfree and Jisung’s words run rampage in Seongwoo’s mind.

With a sudden surge of courage, Seongwoo stands still and stares at Daniel before he blurts, “my turn to ask you something then.”

“Why not,” Daniel agrees as he reciprocates Seongwoo’s gaze, also standing still.

The gush of fearlessness in Seongwoo withers immediately after the ephemral eye contact. It takes Seongwoo a delay before he utters the most vague question he has ever asked, “do... do you mind?…Like, will you care?”

“Care what?” Daniel does not understand that question at all.

“Will you think it’s too fast?”

“What’s too fast?”

“Us.”

Daniel does not respond immediately; he simply lets out a wide beam and looks up to the sky. He then gently rubs Seongwoo’s head to play with his hair and slowly utters, “I won’t feel that way, if you don’t feel that way.”

Seongwoo cannot help but giggles, “where are we going then?”

Daniel hangs both of his elbows on Seongwoo’s shoulder, “I don’t know…, where do you want to go?”

“You always answer my question with another question,” Seongwoo gently chides, “make up your own mind, Mr. Kang Daniel.”

“Cause I respect your decision. You are my hyung,” Daniel defends, taking a step closer to Seongwoo, “just name a place and I’ll go wherever you want to. Where do you want to go then?”

- 

And Daniel finds himself getting led to a love motel.

Both of them are sitting on the same side of the bed. Seongwoo is visibly fidgetting as he stares at the ceiling. On the other hand, Daniel is distraitly playing with the decorations by the nightstand, intermittently peeping at Seongwoo to see if he is equally nervous.

Moments later, Seongwoo turns his head and stares at Daniel's forehead.

“What," asks Daniel, startled by where Seongwoo's gaze land on.

Without any warning, Seongwoo leans forward and quickly combs Daniel’s fringe hair down with his fingers.

“What are you doing?” Daniel wonders with a laugh, “gees, it took me so long to slick back my hair this morning.”

To Seongwoo’s disappointment, Daniel’s fringe barely covers his eyes. He fixates on Daniel’s new "hairstyle" before he sighs, “well, you actually look cuter with your hair down, but  _arghhh_ , this won’t work.”

“I look cute either way,” Daniel sasses, resisting the urge to brush his hair back up after Seongwoo’s compliment, “what are you trying to do? I don't get it.” 

“The bathroom has no door, but I want to take a bath first,” Seongwoo replies as he stands up, dimming the room by turning off some of the lights, “turn your head to face the wall, don’t peep at me.”

“You are crazy,” Daniel laughs sheepishly, even though he also follows Seongwoo’s demand.

 

Seongwoo puts on the bathing rope after the shower and he is staring at himself in the mirror, mentally preparing for what should happen next.

While they were on their way to the love motel,Seongwoo thought he was more than ready, and this is exactly why he brought them here. Yet, now, after a few deep and audible breaths, he realises that he is far from it. For the last few days, he  spends all his energy overanalysing if Daniel thinks they are getting too fast, and the need to confront himself with the same question never crosses his mind.

Daniel can clearly hear Seongwoo’s heavy breathing sounds on the other side of the room, even though he abides by the promise and locks his eyes on the wall. After a pause, he yells, “hey.”

“What,” Seongwoo responds coldly, stepping out of the bathroom.

“You…okay?”

“…Yeah."

“No you are not,” Daniel avows, turning his head to gaze at Seongwoo with concern.

The two stares at each other in silence for what seems to be eternity. Seongwoo swears there is something disarming between Daniel's eyes that convinces him to admit how sheepish he feels right now. With noticeable guilt, Seongwoo mutters, “Fine, yes, I messed up. I… I am sorry.”

“For what,” Daniel shrugs his shoulders, patting on the bed, “come over.”

Seongwoo follows, and, soon, he finds himself wrapped by Daniel’s arms. Both of them lie on the bed while Seongwoo’s back rests against Daniel’s chest. Seongwoo swears Daniel’s breath tingles on his neck, and they remain in that position for a minute or two in complete tranquility.

“You don’t have to hurry anything,” Daniel soothes, breaking the silence, “what will happen, will happen, naturally and eventually.”

Seongwoo crinkles into an affectionate smile and pulls Daniel’s arm closer to himself, intertwining their fingers. He swears he could feel Daniel’s firm grip from his fingers also, something that pushes Seongwoo's lips to curve even more upwards.

“Good night.”

“You too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life is getting so busy that I DON'T EVEN KNOW Wanna One is having their comeback stage this week FML (I thought it’s next week, until Instagram explore pages shows up stills from their new MV.) The only time I have to type my fic is during my commute hahaha.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for your tolerance once again. Will update soon. XOXO.


	5. Day 5 & 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I realise I posted the same chapter twice lol Sorry for the fuss. Hopefully I can double-update today. Writing my wordy endnote now cause I got a lot to say. Will beta soon. XOXO.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Name?”
> 
> “Kim Donghan.”
> 
> “What draws you to your visit Starbucks frequently?”
> 
> “No big particular reasons. Some of my friends gather here. I want to see them.”
> 
> “I see. I think I know which bunch of friends you are referring to. You guys only meet at Starbucks?”
> 
> “Err..., yeah. We got close because we gather here. I don’t have their contacts actually.”
> 
> “Why don’t you ask them then?”
> 
> “I don’t know. I feel kinda weird doing that. Technically, we are just hi-bye friends. I’m afraid I’m asking too much if I’m not 100% confident that they are fine with it.”
> 
> “Will they really mind though? Do you think they will reject your request of giving you their telephone numbers?”
> 
> “That’s the point, they won’t reject me, but that does not necessarily mean that they’re absolutely fine with it. No one wants to disrupt a smooth flow of conversation. People do and say things that do not reflect how they truly feel, simply for the sake of not turning things awkward.”
> 
> “That’s…umm…”
> 
> “Oh, come on, don’t react like you’ve never done something like this.”
> 
> “I mean…, I get it. Moving on to the next question, shall we?”
> 
> “Sure.”

“What happened to your hair?” Jaehwan asks teasingly as he shoves Daniel’s hair, “you look super emo with your fringe down.”

“But I like it,” Daniel insists, brushing his hair back down with a smile while his eyes crinkle into thin lines.

“Yeah, it must be. You like it all of a sudden when you have been slicking your hair back for the whole year,” Sewoon taunts.

Before Daniel can make a witty clapback, his phone rings.

“Hey,” Daniel answers the phone affectionately, while Jaehwan and Sewoon lurch nearby with wry smirks. He knows it has to be Seongwoo without looking at the caller display.

“Hey,” Seongwoo replies with the same tone, “You free at the moment?”

“Yeah,” Daniel affirms, “We have just finished a meeting.”

“Oh um…, I am just trying to ask —- you won’t switch your mobile network, right?”

“What?” Daniel simply thought that Seongwoo is calling for a aimless chat, “er…, no. Why are you asking?”

“Your network supplier is doing a companion promotion. If we both sign up for the 18-month plan, we will get extra monthly data.” Seongwoo informs, “I always run out of data by the end of the month. Yesterday I got my phone bill and the surchage for extra data is even higher than the monthly fee I’m supposed to pay. So…, I am asking if you are planning to switch to another network supplier or not. You know…, if you are not, maybe you can also think about it.”

“I see.”

“So…, will you?”

“Uhh…, I don’t have a contract right now,” Daniel gulps, secreting wishing he has more time to make the decision, “but umm…, most probably I won’t switch.”

“Then I’ll change to your network first after my brunch then,” Seongwo decides.

“See you after that?”

“I’ll see if I can squeeze some time after that then. Afternoon shift today; don’t really have lunch time.”

“It’s fine. I just want to see you.”

An irrepressible beam emerges on Seongwoo’s face, while Daehwi and Minki leers at him with annoyance. Seongwoo quickly collects himself and calmly utters, “I’ll try my best. I’m having brunch with Minki and Daehwi right now.

“I see. See you then.”

“See you.”

-

“You shouldn’t have asked him first,” Minki interjects right after Seongwoo ends the call, “the fact that you two have different networks has nothing to do with the companion plan anyway.”

Daehwi silently nods while Seongwoo tilts his head in confusion.

“Just change the network first and then ask him afterwards. That comes off as more natural. What you are practically doing now is to ask him — _oh babe, stay with me in the coming 18 months. I am changing my network supplier for you,_ ” Minki continues, “Imagine the pressure, seriously.”

“I never use the word _babe_ ,” Seongwoo scowls, shoving half of the omelette into his mouth afterwards.

“That’s not the point though, isn’t it?” Minki counters.

“He’s fine with the arrangement,” Seongwoo chids, “I did ask him to consider too.”

“Of course he does. Are you really giving him time to consider and to say no though?” Minki reasons, “you guys just met for a few days and things are going rather well. He knows it will be such a turnoff, if he says no.”

Seongwoo pouts his lips with the corner curving downwards upon Minki’s answer. He wolfs down the other half of the omlette in silence without much chewing, while his imagination runs wild as to whether he comes off as too aggressive — something he has always wanted to avoid.

“Oh don’t get so upset,” Daehwi soothes, “Minki just means that we’ll never be absolutely sure if he’s fine with it. Maybe he really does. I mean…, didn’t you two’s phone call end at a sweet note? You smiled like a complete moron.”

“Such backhanded words of comfort,” Seongwoo lifelessly utters.

* * *

Seongwoo is waiting for Daniel at the dead-end alleyway again.

“He _just_ wants to meet me,” Seongwoo murmurs to himself as he leans against the lamppost, insisting that the probability of meeting him here is, at least, not as fanciful as yesterday. He simply cannot think of a place where Daniel will be able to _just_ meet him.

A few empty minutes have passed and the corridor remains as deserted as one would imagine. Seongwoo refuses to believe that he has over-interpreted what Daniel has said (even though he knows that he probably should). As the only person in the alleyway, he pokes his head out to check if there is anyone walking towards his direction, hoping that he would see a familiar figure approaching.

But there is no one.

Accepting defeat, he slowly strolls towards Starbucks after a sigh, skidding to a stop and standing still right after entering the building lobby.

Even from afar, simply no way would Seongwoo overlook Daniel, whose pink hair draws a commanding prense among the crowd as always. He is standing by one of the desks in Starbucks, chatting with the gang. Daniel is so absorbed into the banter that he is sparing no glance at the standing figure by the entrance _._

It’s not that Swongwoo does not want to meet Jaehwan, Sewoon, Donghan, or anyone else in gang, but this is drastically different from what Seongwoo has visualised in his mind. He _just_ wanted to meet Daniel, and he is not _just_ meeting him now.

A faint sense of grief begins to permeate Seongwoo’s heart — a complex mixture of the irrefutable confirmation that he has misinterpreted Daniel’s words and, more importantly, the painful awareness that he is not even entitled to express disappointment (albeit mild) to Daniel. 

Nothing is official between them: Seongwoo reminds himself. Who is he to ask for anything?

Pulling a poker face, Seongwoo takes great strides towards to their table and asks with a forced smile, “hey, what are you guys talking about?”

Daniel is surprised that Seongwoo does not stand next to him, but between Jaehwan and Sewoon. Before he has the time to react, Jaehwan responds to Seongwoo’s question with a laugh, “hahaha, Donghan was talking about the lecherous customer he met this morning.”

“Yeah, that bastard, it’s not his first time actually. He always acts like he’s reading the newspaper when he is rubbing his elbow around my inner thigh,” Donghan groans.

“Like how? I don’t get it,” Sewoon inquires, while Daniel switches his position to stand next to Seongwoo.

“He unfolds the newspaper to the full extent and holds it with both hands,” Donghan explains, holding out both arms as a demonstration at the same time, “then, when I approach his table and stand near him, he keeps his eyes on the newspaper with the same posture, except he holds out his elbow away from his body to rub it against me. Argh. Can you picture that? He thought he’s being natural. But who will unfold the newspaper in full when they read it? ALike what the fuck? ”

“ _Eeek_ ,” Sewoon grimaces, taking a sip from Jaehwan’s tumbler. At the same time, Daniel hands Seongwoo his tumbler, welcoming him to take a sip. To his bewilderment, Seongwoo grabs the tumbler in his hand, but he does not hold it anywhere close to his lips.

“I was about to serve hot tea to him when he does it again this time, so I pretend I was shocked when I can feel the touch,” Donghan continues, “I poured the whole pot of tea on his dick.”

Jaehwan and Sewoon burst into laughters immediately while Daniel exhilarates an approving snort. Objectively, Seongwoo knows it is an entertaining story, but he remains his blank gaze at the table, failing to realise that Daniel is staring at him with concern.

“And then?” asks Jaehwan, “is it thoroughly cooked?”

“He instantly stood up and swore. He said he will _fucking make sure_ that I’ll be fired,” Donghan elaborates, “I simply point at the security camera and reveal that I know he has been doing this to me every time he pays a visit and I threaten to sue him for molestation. Then he instantly backed down and said this is an accident.”

“Good job,” Jaehwan compliments, holding out his hand for a high-five with Donghan.

Seongwoo is not paying attnetion to the conversation anymore. He places Daniel’s tumbler on the table and blurts, turns away and lurches towarrds the exit, “I gotta go.”

“Already?” asks Daniel, to which Seongwoo does not respond or slow down his pace of walking.

“To where?” Daniel implores.

“Back to work,” Seongwoo answers coldly.

“Just wait or a second,” yells Daniel from behind, hustling his tumbler back into his bad, “let’s go together. I gotta buy props too.”

“It’s not the same direction,” Seongwoo bluntly counters.

Daniel parts his lips but nothing comes out from him. He has yet to come to grips with Seongwoo’s volatile reactions. 

“What’s your rush? You’re here for like a minute or two only?” Jaehwan wonders.

“Afternoon shift does not come with lunchtime actually. I don’t want crap from my supervisor,” Seongwoo loudly avows without turning his head back, before he pushses the revolving door and leaves.

 

Everyone by the table stares at Daniel.

“What happened?” asks Jaehwan, clearing directing the question to Daniel.

“What what happened,” Daniel answers flatly.

“What’s going on?” Sewoon also joins the requisition.

“Why must it be me?” Daniel furrows his eyebrows.

“Who else would it be?” Everyone else by the table choruses at the same time.

* * *

It is 10pm and Daniel is finally off work. Knowing that Seongwoo’s shift ends around that time, he calls Seongwoo to see if he can meet him (and patch things up, even though he does not even have the slightest idea of what really is happening and where should he start patching).

“Hey,” Daniel greets softly.

“Hey,” Seongwoo also answers softly.

“Where are you?” asks Daniel, “um…, shall I pick you up?”

“Umm…, I’m almost home,” Seongwoo politely rejects.

“Then…, umm…, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Daniel offers, trying to come up with another plan to patch things up, “can we meet at the alleyway? I… I just want to see you. Just…, just the two of us.”

The same irrepressible beam appears on Seongwoo’s face once again. He hums in agreement after a pause.

“But…, but I have a business lunch tomorrow. I may be late,” Daniel reminds.

“Oh…um…, we’ll see then,” Seongwoo replies with a slight hint of woe, “yeah. Bye.”

“Bye.”

* * *

Just as Seongwoo expects, he arrives earlier than Daniel at the dead-end alleyway the next day. However, he is not the only person occupying the lane.

Hyubin is here.

“Is it your private paradise yesterday?” asks Hyunbin with the same diplomatic smile that he wears the first day Seongwoo meets him.

“Nah,” Seongwoo answers casually, “I wasn’t here.”

“Oh… I see,” Hyunbin mumbles before he takes a sip from his navy blue tumbler.

Hyunbin’s tumbler catches Seongwoo’s attention. He remembers distinctively that on-duty policemen are required to drink from a transparent bottle, with the police emblem on it. This is a rule to make sure that policemen do not consume alcohol when they are patrolling (even Seongwoo remembers equally well that vodka could be colourless).

“Isn’t it a rule that you guys can only drink water when you are on duty?” Seongwoo boldly asserts, suspecting that Hyunbin is drinking something else.

“You can take a sip,” Hyunbin hands the bottle to Seongwoo.

After noticeable hesitation, Seongwoo follows.

This also happens to be the first scene that Daniel witnesses when he arrives at the alleyway. He fixates his gaze at Seongwoo, evidently confused by the never-been-seen tumbler in Seongwoo’s hand.

“Oh, it’s coffee,” Seongwoo yelps in realisation before he returns the tumbler to Hyunbin, eyeing at Daniel’s arrival. Hyunbin sensibly leaves the two and strolls towards the other of the corridor.

“Hey,” greets Daniel, “sorry, I was late.”

“Don’t worry, we didn’t fix anything, remember?” Seongwoo soothes.

“You did get my text telling you that, right?” Daniel wants to confirm.

“Yeah.”

“But you didn’t reply.”

“I’m running out of data,” Seongwoo explains with poise, “I did get your text and I know you will be late anyway.”

“The data needed to send a text is negligible,” Daniel maintains, “I thought you are switching your network supplier?”

“I did not,” Seongwoo reveals, “Minki said it’s cheaper if I do it next month. I’m in no hurry anyway, right?”

Daniel nods his head as an acknowledgment before he takes a glimpse of Hyunbin from afar, only to see him gawking at Seongwoo brazenly. Trying his best to sound nonchalant, he turns his head away from Hyunbin and asks Seongwoo, “you know him?”

“We met two days ago for the first time,” Seongwoo addresses casually.

“He won’t stop staring at you,” Daniel sulks, crossing his arms.

Seongwoo lets out a snort before he counters, “how would you know if you didn’t stare back?”

“He invited you to take a sip of his drink,” Daniel sneers with a condescending smile.

“Didn’t you do the same thing on the second day we met?” Seongwoo chides.

“That’s different.”

“What’s the difference then?” Seongwoo rides on and asks, yearning for the answer that he wants from Daniel.

To his disappointment, Daniel shrugs his shoulders and lowers his head, “fine, I won’t insist if you say there isn’t any.”

The two shares a short but unendurable pause between their conversation, until Seongwoo mumbles, “right, you are right. It’s different. Yes it is.”

“Huh?”

“It’s just become different, isn’t it?” Seongwoo tilts his head and gloats at Daniel.

“What? What do you mean by different?” Daniel cannot fully grasp what Seongwoo intends to tell.

“Everything.”

“What _everything_.”

“Nothing,” Seongwoo mutters before he leaves the alleyway.


	6. Day 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Double-update. Enjoy. Will beta soon. XOXO.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Name?”
> 
> “Kang Daniel.”
> 
> “Can I just cut to the chase?”
> 
> “About what?”
> 
> “You and Seongwoo.”
> 
> “Aren’t you supposed to ask me about Starbucks only?”
> 
> “Just treat me as a nosy outsider.”
> 
> “…”
> 
> “Please?”
> 
> “The fact is…I don’t know; I don’t know what’s between me and him.”
> 
> “What do you mean.”
> 
> “He…, argh, like…. It’s just…, I want to tell him how I feel, but I keep on thinking if it will go in the way I expect. I guess I spend too much time overthinking and perhaps he’s not into me anymore.”
> 
> “Don’t guess. Just tell him you feel.”
> 
> “How though? When you like someone, you care about how things will go. It becomes even tougher to bring yourself to say anything. Do you get what I mean? Sweet-talk is for people who you don’t really care.” 
> 
> “I guess…!?”
> 
> “You’ll understand in a few years when you fall in love. What’s your name, kid?”
> 
> “Kim…Kim Samuel.”

“Daniel,” Jaehwan greets as he reaches the former’s working table, “when you go get props for the Lotteria ad later, can you also buy some beer for me?”

“Sure,” Daniel agrees, “but I plan to buy the props on my way home. Do you need them today? I can make the trip now.”

“Oh, don’t worry. They are not for brainstorm purpose. I just want to stock some beer before they raise the alcohol tax,” Jaewhwan explains.

“What?” Daniel yells in shock.

“You don’t know about that?” Jaehwan counters in disbelief.

Daniel shakes his head.

“I thought you must be stocking some. That’s why I’m asking you to get some for me too. I don’t have the time to do that cause I’m leaving with Sewoon to Tokyo tonight,” Jaehwan explains, “the increase will take effect by mid-night. You better get yourself some too. Got anything to do tonight?

Daniel darts his eyes to the right and recalls that it’s Jisung’s birthday party tonight. “Yeah,” Daniel replies, “a friend’s birthday party, it won’t take much time to get some beer I assume.”

“Great.”

“How many cans do you need actually?” asks Daniel.

“As many as you can get basically,” Jaehwan urges. “they are doubling the tax for fuck’s sake.”

“Seriously?” Daniel lands his palm on his forehand as his eyebrows furrow, “Fuck, how come no one told me about this?”

“Cause everyone assumes you alcoholic must have learnt about it.”

* * *

Seongwoo rushes to the convenience store near where he works after his shift. He knows that beer will be sold out by tonight for sure after Jisung tells him about the raise in alcohol tax.

“Is that all the you have in your inventory?” Seongwoo asks the shopkeeper with intermittent pants, pointing at the cans of Heineken on that cashier counter that he carries all the way from the refrigerator.

The shopkeeper hums in agreement before he eyes at another customer by entrance. Seongwoo follows his gaze and finds the person he is not prepared to meet.

It is Daniel.

Daniel nods as a greeting and Seongwoo reciprocates the gesture. The two shares a moment of silence before the pink-haired asks the shopkeeper, “umm…, excuse me, do you have any Calsberg? I need all of them.”

“It’s in the fridge,” the shopkeeper replies briefly, “get them there and pay here.”

Daniel follows and nips over to the fridge, carrying dozens of beer in his hands to the cashier. The shopkeeper then starts scanning the cans of beer while the two stand by the counter.

“Still drinking?” Seongwoo sasses, “not worried about your crippling alcoholism?”

“I’m not if you’re not,” Daniel replies vaguely.

By that time, the shopkeeper has finished scanning all the cans. He informs the two, “Heineken would be 68,000 won,”

“I’ll pay by card,” Seongwoo answers, passing his credit card to the shopkeeper. The latter swipes the card and a beep sound emerges.

“I’m afraid your card is over its limits,” the shop manager notifies.

Seongwoo hastily opens his wallet and scuffles for cash. To his discomposure, there is a only a banknote of 50,000 won. Just as he is about to ask the cashier to try again, Daniel hands his credit card to the staff and volunteers, “try mine.”

Seongwoo stares at Daniel in wonder before he is able to reply with ease, “let me pay you back later.”

“Nah, no big deal,” Daniel refuses, without returning Seongwoo’s gaze at all.

“Great. The payment is accepted,” says the shopkeeper, “for Carlsberg, it’s 47,000 won,”

“Just use the same card,” Daniel instructs.

The shopkeeper follows the order, and the same beep sound emerges again.

“I’m afraid your card is also over the limits after the previous transaction.”

“Can you try…”

Before Daniel can finish his sentence, Seongwoo presents the 50,000 won banknote to the shopkeeper, and the latter returns the change soon after.

“Thank you. Do you guys need paper boxes to carry them. Apparently it’s heavy,” the staff proposes.

“Yes,” Daniel and Seongwoo chorus.

“Put them all together? or separate?”

“Separate,” Seongwoo replies; just as Daniel says, “All together.”

The two instantly turn their heads to each other for their simultaneous (but diametrically opposed) responses.

“All together,” Seongwoo amends; just as Daniel also amends, “separate.”

The two lower their heads out of embarrassment after their incongruent answers; both are unsure of what should they do next.

“Just put it all together then,” the shopkeeper suggests, “save some resources.”

-

The box of canned beer is so heavy that Daniel and Seongwoo can barely move it to the former’s car, even though it is parked right in front of the entrance of the convenience store. The two finally reaches the car trunk after much hassle and bustle for a distance that normally takes less than a minute.

“Are you crazy?” asks Seongwoo, goggling at other paper boxes on Daniel’s car, “how many have you bought?”

“Some of them are Jaehwan’s,” Daniel deadpans, opening the paper box to sort out the cans that belong to Seongwoo, “where are you going now?”

“ _Duh_ , buying beer, the price is going up,” answers Seongwoo as he places all the Heineken into his own black tote bag.

Daniel is tongue-tied. This is not the answer that he expects. He clearly knows that Seongwoo will attend Jisung’s birthday party tonight. Before he can make a proper inquiry, Seongwoo waves his hand as a farewell and turns away, walking towards the direction away from Daniel.

It takes Seongwoo a few more steps before Daniel finally yells, “HEY.”

Seongwoo freezes his walk, but he does not turn back.

“Do you want to go buy some more beer together before we go to Jisung’s party?”

Seongwoo secretly thanks himself for not turning back after Daniel’s yell, so that now he can fully savour this moment  which makes his heart leap with joy. There is no need to divert any energy to tighten his lips from leaking a beam.

He collects himself from the ear-to-ear smile on his face and turns back to reply to Daniel, “why not? I’ll drive though. I don’t want to die.”

* * *

While Seongwoo focuses on steering the wheel as he hums to pop songs, Daniel cannot stop himself from peeping at Seongwoo.

“Hey,” Daniel nudges.

“What,” Seongwoo answers shortly, with his eyes remain on the front window.

“Sorry,” Daniel stutters.

“For what.”

“The cop who asked you to take a sip of his drink yesterday,” Daniel slowly drawls out, “I mean… uh…, he looks good. So I get kinda… jealous when he did that to you.”

Seongwoo does not answer, but he know his lips are curving upwards.

“Am I a moron or what?” Daniel wants an answer from Seongwoo.

“I’m fine that you are a moron,” Seongwoo utters, "for me."

Daniel then shifts his focus to the view outside of the window by his side and asks, with noticeable effort to act nonchalant, “why…why were you mad at me then?”

“I’m not,” Seongwoo denies, not noticing that the smile on his face instantly vanishes upon hearing Daniel’s question.

“No?”

Seongwoo does not want to answer. He cranes his head to take a better look of the view in front of him, even though he knows this is absolutely unnecessary as they are on a highway.

“Fine then,” Daniel shrugs his shoulder.

“Of course I’m fine,” Seongwoo insists.

Silence then ensues between the two until Daniel realises the last question amounts to a stepping stone for him to say something bolder.

“Um…, so, we met exactly a week ago,” Daniel counts, “but I’ve been to your friend’s farewell party. I’ve met your best friends. We’ve been to that uh…yeah. It happens all in a blink and I, um…”

“What do you want to say here actually? Mr. Kang. You’re a grown man. Don’t tell me you don’t know what you are doing,” Seongwoo scoffs.

“No no no, I don’t mean that, for real,” Daniel defends. In fact, it is the polar opposite of what Seongwoo asserts, Daniel wants to confess, but his mind blanks out completely, “I…”

“Forget it,” Seongwoo sneers.

“No, I…”

Before Daniel can articulate anything coherent, both of them can feel that the car is gradually slowing down.

“God, what is it?” Seongwoo asks himself shortly before he figures out what is happening, “oh fuck.”

The car is on the verge of breaking down.

Swiftly, Seongwoo parks the car by the road and the two get off.

“Let me call the colleagues from my team to see what we can do then,” Daniel proposes as he takes out his phone and dials a number, “ _Hey, Jenny, it’s Daniel. I got some bad news for you. Our team’s car broke. Yeah…yeah… yeah… so what should…_ ”

Daniel’s phone call fades to the background as Seongwoo continues to vacantly stand by the car. He reaches his black tote bag and opens a can of beer as a time filler.

“ _…Oh I see. I guess it’s a flat tyre then. Great. Thank you. Bye,_ ” Daniel ends the call. His eyes then search for Seongwoo, only to be shocked to see him, as the driver, is consuming alcohol.

“What are you doing?” asks Daniel, narrowing his eyes on Seongwoo’s can of beer.

“What?” Seongwoo counters before taking another sip.

“Who’s gonna drive if you drink?” Daniel questions, stepping closer to Seongwoo.

“Why will we be driving? Dude, Your car _broke down_ ,” Seongwoo challenges.

“It’s just a flat tyre. Can’t you hear my phone call? Someone’s coming to fix it.”

“You can always be the driver. You know how to drive; it’s just you don’t have a license.”

“And that’s exactly why you said you don’t feel secure if I drive.” Daniel reasons.

“Make me feel more secure then, can’t you?”

A moment of pause then follows — It is painfully obvious that Seongwoo’s question comes with ulterior overtones. Slowly, Daniel points out, “You never come right out with what you want to say.”

Seongwoo snarls with a mixture of distress and resentment as he walks away from Daniel, “How can I though? I don’t even know if you are...  _argh_.”

Daniel could fully comprehend Seongwoo’s sentence even though it is incomplete. Slowly, Daniel jogs towards Seongwoo before he stares brazenly into his eyes and utters with determination, “Yes, I am.”

“But nothing supports it,” Seongewoo turns away again, gulping down a large amount of beer, “you never said anything. You never express anything.”

“I did.”

“When? When you sleep-talk?” Seongwoo ridicules defeatedly, blabbering anything he can think of at the top of his mind, “Mr. Kang, if you’re not ready to start a relationship, it’s fine. Just spit it out and I totally understand. I mean… as you’ve said, it’s just a week, right? I know it’s my fault that I second-guess every word you said, but I get tired easily too, cause I’m simple and straightforward. I…I don’t understand your conspiracy theories about triad societies or UFOs. Like, I…I really don’t. Do you get it?”

A small part of Daniel wants to argue against Seongwoo’s assertion that he is a “simple and straightforward” person, but he reckoned that it is not the optimal time. He also understands something else: He is doomed. Seongwoo is still bizarrely lovely even though he is throwing a tantrum.

With a grin, he snatches Seongwoo’s phone from his pocket and runs over the chat history between them.

“What are you doing?” Seongwoo weakly objects while Daniel continues to scroll through their chat history, “What exactly are you searching?”

Daniel does not utter a single word but he points at his text that he is looking for.

 

i n 3^0ㄱ ! +nq

 

He then flips Seongwoo’s phone upside down, signalling him to read it.

Seongwoo squints at his phone, trying to decipher the words.

 

“But…I…love…you,” Seongwoo reads.

The air surrounding Seongwoo condenses following the utterance of the last word, and he swears this is the most difficult instance in his life when it comes to controlling his facial expression. A wide and easy grin forms on Seongwoo’s face as he gazes at Daniel, who is scratching the back of his neck with a slight hint of blush on his face. 

“Moron,” Seongwoo utters with a mixture of adoration and cheekiness as he starts to giggle.

Daniel can only respond with a warm smile before he takes hold of Seongwoo’s beer and replaces it with his own hand.

“Do you, then?” asks Daniel, taking a sip from the can.

“Do you what?”

“Do you, um…”

“Yeah.” 

-

“Sorry we are late,” Seongwoo apologises as he and Daniel enters Jisung’s apartment with holding hands, “Daniel’s car broke down.”

“Are you guys official now or what?” asks Jisung before he chugs down another glass of red wine.

“Yeah,” Daniel affirms. The whole living room is then filled with congratulatory cheers.

“You two bastards, stealing my spotlight,” Jisung playfully accuses.

The party goes in ordinary Jisung’s fashion, with loud music and alcohol involved. Daniel and Seongwoo are now lounging on the sofa in silence, staying away from the crowd near the dining room.

“Answer me something,” Seongwoo softly mutters, tipping his head against Daniel’s shoulder.

“Just ask,” Daniel agrees as he brushes Seongwoo’s hair.

“When did you fall in love with me?” Seongwo blurts.

“What?” Daniel laughs with scorn.

“Just tell me when?”

“What do you mean by that?” Daniel slowly drawls out.

“Bitch please, there must a time,” Seongwoo insists.

“That time when we are heading to metro for props on the second day,” Daniel confesses.

“What? Why?” asks Seongwoo with furrowed eyebrows, “That’s the least likely moment I can imagine throughout these seven days.”

“Cause after we parted ways, I googled your Innisfree, and I found out that your shop is not on that way,” Daniel reveals, “that means you made a detour just to spend time with me alone. I feel like you must be interested in me.”

“Oh shut the hell up,” Seongwoo rolls his eyes as he laughs, “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Am I right though?” Daniel counters, to which Seongwoo turns away to hide his chuckles, “and uh… I find you kinda cute too. So…, yeah. You?”

“What _you_.”

“Your turn. When? There must be a time,” asks Daniel , shifting his position so that he can send Seongwoo his intimidating gaze, just to make sure he does not evade from the question.

“Love motel…? I guess,” Seongwoo recalls.

“So you bring me to a love motel before you fall in love me?” Daniel wonders.

“ _Fine_ , I’m interested in you already when we first met, okay?” Seongwoo admits, “but what you said in the love motel is very... heart-warming. Yeah.”

“What did I say?” Daniel lifts his chin to recall the scene.

“When we are about to..., you know, you comforted me and said we don’t have to hurry anything, because what will happen will eventually happen,” Seongwoo replies, “I…I was touched; I was the one who brought you there and I felt like I disappointed you. I don’t know…, I feel like you are a nice guy and you see us more than a fling. That’s all.”

“Isn’t that what people should do though, not to proceed when the other side is clearly not ready?” Daniel avers. “Anyway, I have to tell you something about that, but promise you won’t get mad first.”

“Try me.”

“So you promise?”

“Just tell me first.”

“Promise me first?”

“Argh, fine,” Seongwoo rolls his eyes, “I promise, tell me.”

“That morning before we met for the movie date, I was having my regular medical check actually,” Daniel reveals.

“And then?”

“So, there was a part of the test where they need to take samples for STDs test," Daniel explains, "and they insert a cotton swab-sized thingy _into_ my urethra…”

“ _Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck_ ,” Seongwoo screams in agony, “are you serious? Like, _inside?_ ”

“Yeah, an inch deep.”

“Shit…., the pain must be profound even it’s just a nanometre.”

“It’s just as painful as you can imagine,” Daniel affirms, “and uh…, by the night when I met you, I was still so traumatised that I can’t…, yeah. I was really caught off-guard that you brought me to the love motel.”

“Oh…, _now_ I get why are you telling me this,” Seongwoo yelps in epiphany, “you can’t do it anyway that night. ”

“Yeah…, I mean, of course, I wouldn’t go further anyway seeing how anxious you are.”

“ _Of course_ you are going to say that,” Seongwoo teases, “ _argh_ , so my new boyfriend is impotent, like the cigarette box. Why did I like you?”

“First of all, _I'm not_. Second, Cause you do," Daniel leans closer to brush his nose with Seongwoo's, "or do you?”

“No, I hate you," Seongwoo squints his with a wide grin.

“But I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things to say:
> 
> 1\. Thank you for bearing with me for all the infrequent updates. Originally I want to take a hiatus after my last fic until January. But then I realise, as much as I don't want to remind myself, that Ongniel won't promote together forever. I want to squeeze as much time to write about them when they still are.
> 
> 2\. This is supposed to end by 10,000 words but I went over by almost a double. Hahaha. Having said that, I actually enjoy writing about this more than the original fic. Probably because I insert some of my personal experiences here (not that STD testing part, it’s from my friend). This is also more... slice-of-life-ish? I wasn't looking for anything angsty or melodramatic but I feel like my previous fic may have (occasionally) overdone it. I just want a fic that is as close to real life as possible, but then you also want your fic to be interesting. Such a hard balance to strike.
> 
> 3\. I will have to take a break after this until January, sadly. Gotta deal with real life duties first. A lot of prompts do linger in my mind though, I will try to develop some of them when I resume writing. One is a lawyer!AU that is inspired by a tweet. Guess I can finally put my college degree into good use. Another one is high scchool! AU. There is also another one that I don't even know how to describe it briefly, nor do I even know to relationship-tag it. Anyway, we'll deal with that later. Haha.
> 
> 4\. As to bonus chapters of this original fic, it will be up after my hiatus, and possibly the sequel of this. Feel free to treat them as the transitional chapters if the latter really happens.
> 
> 5\. Once again, thank you for your tolerance. Comments are always welcomed. XOXO.


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